A Series of Disturbances
by flashes-of-silver
Summary: Playing with Fire and Ice. Harry awakens to find her waiting. Then she follows. Maliciously, perhaps. Ginny is faced with a problem of her own in the form an unpredictable blonde with grey eyes. Hogwarts is back with all of the intrigue and maybe more.
1. Chapter One

Playing With Fire and Ice

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or settings in this story apart from those of my invention. Any who/that appear in the Harry Potter books belong solely to the brilliance J. K. Rowling. But the plot is my own.

A/N: Updates on this story may be slow to come, but be patient. I WILL update. :-) Also, the more reviews I get, the more updating I will do, so give me some feedback!

* * *

Chapter 1

Harry awoke with a start, straining his eyes so as to be able to peer into the darkness that enveloped him. He had a feeling that the same thing that had been unceremoniously jerking him awake every night for the past week had done it again; the problem was that he didn't know just what it was. A few times he's been able to catch a glimpse of something wispy and white and the idea that it might have been a ghost had crossed his mind, but that was ridiculous. For one, ghosts did not show up on Privet Drive in Little Whinging unannounced--announced either, come to think of it, and secondly, the white thing hadn't looked like any ghost he'd seen before. It had been completely formless. Sort of like a piece of cobweb floating above his head

Shaking his head slightly, Harry gave one last look around his room and then flopped back down on his side, pulling the blanket up to his ears. In a few moments, his deep, even breathing showed him to be asleep again, and the door to his closest creaked ajar. Should Harry have been awake, he would have seen a small, somewhat angular and ethereal face with piercing blue eyes staring at him mischievously out of the closet.

"Harry..." the voice was soft, like a breath of wind. One bright blue eye winked at him, and then the face vanished.

The next morning, Harry's nighttime disturbance did not cross his mind. He was too busy avoiding getting hit by the chairs Dudley was hurling at Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon because they hadn't brought him a present from their outing into town the previous evening. Dudley had already been furious about having to remain home with no one but Harry for company (although Harry hardly counted as Uncle Vernon had locked him into his room upon his and Petunia's departure), and apparently the lack of a gift had pushed Dudley over the edge. Still dodging the flying furniture, Harry ducked out the front door to get the newspaper.

As he picked it up off of the Dursleys perfectly manicured lawn, he noticed a funny envelope stuck to it. Curious, Harry pulled the envelope free and examined it carefully. Turning it over, he saw that his name was written on the front in delicate spidery handwriting. With a careful glance over his shoulder, to be sure that none of his relatives were looking out the window at him (he still remembered his experience with letters from Hogwarts before his first year all too well), Harry ripped open the envelope, pulling out the enclosed piece of parchment and stared bewilderedly at it.

_It's almost time..._

What was that supposed to mean? Harry rubbed his hand through his hair, making it stick up. Maybe it was Ron trying to play a joke on him? But no, the handwriting wasn't right, it was spidery and delicate, not scrawling. After puzzling over the note for a moment longer, he shrugged and stuffed it into his pocket. Turning, he headed back inside.

A glance around the kitchen showed that things had been gotten mostly under control. Dudley sat smugly in his chair while his mother, her lips tightly pursed, busied herself at the stove, and his father, face purple and shoulders heaving, glared at Harry as he came in.

"Took you long enough, didn't it boy?"

Wordlessly, Harry handed his uncle the newspaper and walked around the table to sit at his place. Breakfast was a bad meal to sit through in this house, Harry thought. All the meals were bad, but breakfast was probably the worst because none of the Dursleys were morning people. Things had only gotten a bit better when Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had taken Dudley off his diet, declaring that Dudley was big-boned and meant to be a hefty boy regardless of what the nurse at Smeltings said (they were now taking him to a tailor to get his uniform specially made). At least Dudley wasn't snatching food off of Harry's plate when he wasn't watching anymore.

After his initial remark to Harry, Uncle Vernon went back to ignoring him, "Got to get the yard people over here to take a look at that rose bush Petunia. I think they smashed it up last time they were here."

"Mm. Well it's under _his_ window," Aunt Petunia replied with a head jerk in Harry's direction. Both his aunt and uncle turned to give Harry a nasty look, as though they thought that maybe he was the one going around and smashing up bushes.

This conversation seemed to cheer Dudley up to no end, as he always greatly enjoyed himself when his parents were attacking Harry. He was watching the exchange with his piggy little eyes, the bacon on his plate forgotten. Forseeing an addition to the conversation in the form of his cousin, Harry hurriedly excused himself, making his way back up to his room where he sat down at his desk with the idea of sending a letter to Ron, telling him about the note.

Just as he was placing his quill on the paper, Harry heard a noise behind him. Whirling around he saw Dudley standing in the doorway.

"What?" Harry asked rudely.

"I bet you've been practicing your," Dudley gave a quick look around and dropped his voice, "your _magic_ on the rosebushes haven't you." Magic was a forbidden word in the Dursley household, and Harry was surprised that Dudley had used it. Normally it scared him silly.

"I can't use magic during the summer holidays, you prat," spat Harry, "It's forbidden."

"Yeah? Well I wonder how Mum and Dad would like it if I told them I saw a girl climbing through your window last night?"

"What are you talking about?"

Ignoring Harry, Dudley continued, "Yeah, I don't think they'd much like it if they knew you were sneaking your kind into the house, not to mention a _girl_."

Harry stood up, "Get out. Now."

Dudley glowered at him, but Harry had had enough. He strode over to his cousin, looked him in the face, and then slammed the door. Breathing heavily, Harry sat down on the edge of his bed. What the bloody hell had Dudley been on about? No girl had come into his room last night or any other night either, although Harry couldn't say that he'd have especially minded if one had. A clicking noise at the window startled him and shook him out of his daydreams. Turning, he saw Hedwig tapping at the window with her beak in an irritated manner.

Once Harry had unlatched the window, the snowy owl soared into the room, alighting on his desk chair after having dropped an envelope in his lap. Harry picked up the envelope and at once recognized the handwriting on it. It was the same as that on the note he had received that morning. Wondering again who could be behind the letters, Harry ripped open the envelope, dropping it on the floor. As before, the note was short with no means of identifying the sender. If there was a spell that could track down the senders of anonymous letters, Harry didn't know it.

_Now the game is going to get fun..._

Who would send him something like that? Harry racked his brain, trying to come up with someone who would send anonymous letters to him. He couldn't do it, so he turned his attention to trying to figure out the meaning behind the sentences. It really wasn't possible to tell whether they were meant to be threats or just funny. Maybe Fred and George? But no, this wasn't really their line; they'd be more likely to send you some innocent looking thing that would explode when you touched it. Harry sighed and dropped the letter onto his desk. He ran his hand across his scar, which was twinging a bit and flopped down onto his bed.

A second later, his eyes flew open in surprise. A cool hand was stroking his cheek, and a pair of sparkling blue eyes looked down on him. A further examination found the eyes to be set in a beautiful face, which in turn was attached to an equally beautiful, willowy, and distinctly feminine form.

"Hello Harry...finally I see you awake," the girl's voice was soft and lovely.

Harry could only stare at her; words failed him as she leaned down and kissed his cheek.

When Harry had recovered himself sufficiently from his initial shock, he looked back up and the creature standing beside him, "Who--what are you?"

A laugh like the tinkling of many bells met his ears, "That does not matter for right now. All that matters is that I am here for you. Call me Ealia." Ealia's eyes fluttered closed as she leaned back down towards Harry, this time, no doubt, wanting to give him a real kiss.

Harry, however rolled deftly to one side and sat up quickly, "I don't think that this is such a good idea really. I mean, I don't know you or anything."

"No...but you will," Ealia's lovely lips curled up into a soft smile and she sat down next to him, wrapping her arms around him. It took all of Harry's self-control not to let himself fall into her, and he jumped off the bed and to his feet.

"No. I don't know who or what you are, and I'm certainly not trusting enough to fall victim to whatever little game you're having on me," he scowled at her, feeling rather like stubborn child.

Ealia sighed and rose smoothly to her feet, shaking her softly curling blonde hair behind her, "Very well Harry, very well. I shan't bother you anymore...for the moment," she added with a mischievous grin, "I suppose I won't send anymore letter either..."

"That was you?!" Harry cried, looking surprised.

Ealia raised one delicate arm, "But of course. They were just a teaser, mind you. But as you'd like me to be gone, I will go." With and impish wink, Ealia disappeared, leaving Harry blinking at the spot where she'd just been.

How had she disappeared? Apparating made a loud cracking noise, and her disappearance had been silent. Then Harry's eyes fell upon the window which was still open from when he let Hedwig in. Had the girl flown or climbed in? Harry thought for a moment more and then gave a little half shrug. He still had homework to do before term started in two weeks.

* * *

"Harry! We're leaving now, mate," Ron called up the crooked stairs of The Burrow. Harry had been fairly isolated since his arrival from the Dursley's nearly two weeks ago, and it made Ron worry a bit. His mother hadn't seemed to notice it, but Ron thought it abnormal.

"Coming Ron, just give me a moment," Harry's voice called down. A second later Harry appeared on the stairs, dragging his trunk behind him. They reached the bottom with a bang, and Ron gave Harry hand in carrying the trunk out to Mr. Weasley's newly recovered car.

Hagrid had managed to lure it out of the Forbidden Forest, and it had been delivered to Mr. Weasly three days ago. The worked well enough, although it seemed to have developed a taste for the wild and was given to bursts of speed at rather innapropriate times. Just on the way to Kings Cross, Mr. Weasley had had to make several sharp turns to avoid running over muggles crossing the street.

With no small amount of huffing and puffing, Harry and the Weasleys hauled their trunks out of the back of the car and deposited them onto the Kings Cross trolleys. With the exception of Ginny Weasley's trunk falling off her trolley and bursting open (causing Mr. Weasley to make a rather harried explantion to a nearby official as to why his daughter had spellbooks and long black robes in her trunk), they all reached the barrier uneventfully. That is, until Harry looked up and found himself looking at Ealia.

She was standing slightly to the side of Weasleys and Harry, with a slight smile playing on her lips. The muggles in the station seemed completely oblivious to the young woman wearing a loose flowing green dress. They simply walked around her and continued on their ways. Harry stared, his mouth open. Was she following him? And who the hell was she anyway? As he stood looking at her, she seemed to fade away before him; the last thing he saw was her face, the expression of which seemed to flicker to a slightly threatening one before she vanished completely.

"Harry? Are you alright?" Ginny's voice came from his side.

"I--what? Yes, I'm fine," Harry said, tearing his eyes away from where Ealia had been and rumpling his already untidy hair with his hand.

Ginny was looking at him curiously, "What were you looking at? It was like you were hypnotized."

"Nothing," Harry replied, almost to himself, then in a louder voice, "Nothing at all, Gin. I must've just been having a daydream."

"Hmm," Ginny looked skeptical, reminding Harry strongly of Mrs. Weasley.

"I'm fine, really. Here, let's take our trunks to the train," Harry walked at quick pace towards the barrier between platforms nine and ten, Ginny following closely behind.

A second later, they were through, and the scarlet train stood before them, billowing white smoke. Harry couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief--he wouldn't be seeing the Dursleys again until next summer. It was such a very liberating feeling.

"C'mon Harry, let's get a compartment. I want to try to find Hermione," Ron materialized at Harry's elbow.

"Hermione, eh?" Harry elbowed his friend, and privately wondered to himself whether this year Ron and Hermione would finally get together; they'd had a love/hate relationship going on for ages, and Harry thought it time for Ron to do something about it.

Ron's ears turned pink, "Well, yeah, I mean, er, well we haven't seen her this entire summer."

"Must be a record," Harry fought back a laugh.

"Oh shut up, you," Ron replied good naturedly.

Together the two boys boarded the train, followed by Ginny, their trunks having already been taken aboard. Finally after walking the length of the train and stopping in to a compartment to greet Seamus, Dean, and Neville (which actually took quite a bit of time because Dean had wanted to regale them with his latest soccer news), Harry, Ron, and Ginny found Hermione in an empty compartment.

"Hi!" she said brightly after having turned around and recognized the intruders, "It's been forever. I would've died without all your owls Ron, yours too, Harry."

Ron turned pink again and started mumbling something about how he hadn't had too much to do over the summer, so he figured he might as well give Pig some exercise by writing letters.

"You were doing your homework, though, weren't you? We had loads this break," Hermione looked at Ron severely.

"What? I--oh, yeah."

Just then Hermione caught sight of Ginny who hadn't been able to get into the compartment due to Harry and Ron blocking up the entrance, "Ginny! How are you?" she pulled Ginny into a quick hug, "Sit down, sit down all of you. Hagrid's told me all about the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

Harry let out a groan, "Hermione, can we not talk about school yet? There'll be plenty of time for that later." As much as he loved Hogwarts, Harry couldn't bring himself to listen to one of Hermione's lectures about classes just yet.

Hermione looked slightly put out, "Well, alright. What do you suggest talking about then?"

"Where's Crookshanks?" Ginny asked, and it was then that Harry and Ron noticed the absence of the orange cat.

"Mum and Dad wanted to keep him at home. We had a mouse in the walls and Mum can't stand mice."

"Yeah, and Crookshanks had plenty of practice going after rodents, what with Scabbers," said Ron.

Hermione's eyes went wide, "You can't possibly _still_ be annoyed about that. I mean, Scabbers was Peter Pettigrew who betrayed Harry's parents! Besides, Crookshanks was just doing what cats do."

"It isn't about Scabbers. It's the principle of the thing. You can't just let your cat go after other people's pets."

"He's a _cat_ Ron and Scabbers was a rat."

"So keep him shut up in a room then!"

Hermione looked extremely irritated. Harry looked at Ginny, who looked back at him, and an understanding passed between them.

"Erm, Ginny and I are going to go look for the food cart. We'll be back in a bit." Harry said, and then he and Ginny quickly left, leaving Ron and Hermione to battle it out.

"I can't stand it when they do that. And they're so clearly in love with eachother," huffed Ginny as the two stood a little ways down the corridor.

"Yes, I don't know what Ron's waiting about for. I mean, if _I_ liked a girl, I'd do something about it," replied Harry.

"Would you?" Ginny looked up at him, and for the first time, Harry was struck by how attractive Ginny really was. Her flame colored hair fell loose around her shoulders, her cheeks were flushed, and her brown eyes sparkled up at him. The form beneath her robes (which she'd already changed into) was none to shabby either. Pairing that with her strong personality, Harry wondered how he had failed to notice her.

"Yeah, yeah I would," Harry felt himself blushing.

"Hmm," Ginny said knowingly, looking up into his green eyes. Before he knew what he was doing, Harry leaned down, touching his lips to Ginny's. Ginny put her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, but then as suddenly as he had begun it, Harry ended it, pulling back and quickly straightening up.

"Sorry Gin. Erm, shall we just go back now? I'm sure Ron and Hermione's row is over," and without really waiting for her, Harry strode off down the passage. What had he been doing?! He had never cared for Ginny before, and he wasn't sure he did now. Well, alright, so maybe he did, but _still_, it would never work out between them. And Harry didn't really understand where his impulsive move had come from. He had no idea how he was going to act around Ginny anymore after this.

Harry and Ginny entered their compartment and were met by the sight of two seemingly unaquainted, irritated people. Hermione was stony-faced, staring at a book, and jiggling her foot, and Ron, his jaw-set was staring out the window.

Ginny looked from one to the other and sighed, "Oh please you two, this is ridiculous. Stop being so infantile."

Hermione and Ron glanced at her briefly and scowled, and then turned back to what they were doing. Harry, who was used to his two best friends' behaviour, simply sat down in his seat and motioned at Ginny to sit down too. He then set to trying to find something, anything, to do that would keep him from having to talk to Ginny. He thought that if he was just able to avoid her, he might be able to sort out his feelings. The problem, Harry found, was that as hard as he tried, he couldn't keep from peaking at Ginny over the top of his Quality Quidditch Supplies catalogue. Ginny, on the other hand, was quite content to absorb herself in conversation with Hermione and seemingly did not care or notice that Harry was sending her sidelong glances.

"Please gather your things together. We will be arriving at Hogwarts in approximately ten minutes," the voice came over the intercom.

Harry, glad for an excuse to put away his catalogue, which he hadn't really been reading anyway, shoved it into a bag, "C'mon Ron, let's go change."

"Yeah ok," and with a last glance at Hermione who was still staunchly ignoring him, Ron followed Harry out of the compartment.

When the door closed behind them, Hermione looked up at Ginny, "I don't know what to do about your brother. He's absolutely infuriating!"

Ginny grinned, "I know. Believe me I know. I have to live with him."

"I really like him, you know, but sometimes I honestly can't stand him," Hermione wrinkled her nose slightly as she pulled on her robes.

"Yeah, and--oh," Ginny said as though struck by a sudden thought, her arm halfway into a sleeve, "you have to promise not to tell..."

"Ok," Hermione leaned forward.

"Well out in the hall just now--" but before she could finish, the door burst open and Harry and Ron reentered the room in their school robes, looking flushed.

"Damn git," Ron was muttering between gritted teeth.

Hermione and Ginny looked at them questioningly. Harry only had to say one word, "Malfoy."

"Oh," the two girls nodded in understanding.

"He tried to ambush us in the hallway, full of his normal abuse. Harry and I didn't bother to stick around. We just turned around and left."

"Yeah, he can't do anything without Crabbe and Goyle," Harry was rumpling his hair, trying to think of the best way to get back at his enemy. Ginny, who found herself staring at Harry, couldn't help but think how adorable he looked with his dark hair sticking up in all directions and his green eyes flashing with anger. Just then the train squealed to a halt.

"Finally," Hermione said with some relief, "I've got to get this essay checked. I think I may have missed some key points." She waved around a role of parchment.

As they exited the train, Ron and Hermione walked together, dispute apparently forgotten, and Harry found himself next to Ginny. The situation, Harry thought, was decidedly awkward.

* * *

A/N: This chapter is far longer than what the rest of them will probably be, due to the fact that I had a three day waiting period before I could start publishing (because I'm a new member). This meant that I worked on the story every chance I got and it just kept getting longer. Please review!


	2. Chapter Two

A/N: So here's the second chapter. I need some reviews! Come on guys, I know you've got it in you... The formatting on the first chapter was a little weird (the dividers that I put in didn't show up for some reason, so pieces of it ran together), sorry about that. I also can't guarantee that the other chapters will be as long as that first one, but I think I mentioned that at the bottom of the chapter.

* * *

"So..." Ginny looked up at Harry.

"So..." Harry didn't meet her eyes, but rather looked at those in the crowd around him. He saw a flash of golden hair, and froze.

It was her again. Who the bloody hell was she and why did she seem to be following him around?! Now he could see her face, staring at him, and it seemed to be bobbing closer. Without really thinking about what he was doing, he grabbed Ginny's arm and hurriedly pulled her with him towards one of the waiting carriages.

"Harry, what is going on? You look like horrified," Ginny looked at him with some concern.

"I don't really know, Gin. This summer, a couple of weeks before I came to your house, I'd been waking up and not knowing what was waking me up, and there'd be a sort of white wispy thing floating above me, and then I started seeing her."

"Her?" Ginny looked a little confused.

After making Ginny promise not to talk to anyone about it, Harry launched into an explanation. He wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing by telling her, but he thought that she'd be able to keep a secret, plus he wanted to get the whole ordeal off his chest. When he had finished, the carriage was pulling up to the school.

"So there you have it."

Ginny's brow was furrowed in thought, "This reminds me of something, Harry, but I can't think what..." Ginny shrugged and moved as though to get out of the carriage.

Harry caught her hand, "Ginny," his heart was pounding, "Listen, erm, about what happened in the corridor..."

Ginny looked up at him, "Don't worry about it."

"No, it's just that I _do_ like you, and well, I thought I should tell you before you went off thinking that I was a total jerk."

"I would never think that you were a total jerk, Harry." Harry looked skeptical, "I wouldn't!" Ginny said.

Just then, the two were interrupted by Ron and Hermione who had just gotten out of their carriage and walked over to them.

"Where were you? We tried to hold the carriage for you, but then you never came," asked Hermione, looking from one to the other.

"We lost you in the crowd, so we found a different one to take," Ginny promptly replied.

"Well, let's go then," Ron looked about him, "I want to see the sorting."

"Yeah, all right. We've missed it enough as it is," Harry grinned and got out of the carriage and joined his two friends.

Ginny hung behind the three a bit, deeply in thought. What Harry had described to her earlier sounded familiar, but she just couldn't quite remember it. She shrugged it off. No doubt it would come back to her. She looked at Harry's retreating back. He had said that he liked her, and she believed him, but she couldn't help but wonder whether Harry was destined to be a more solitary sort.

A sudden jostling from behind snapped her out of her reverie, "Oh, _pardon_ me," a cold, drawling voice met her ears, and Ginny knew who it was turning around.

"Shut it, Malfoy. I don't feel particularly like dealing with you tonight." Ginny didn't bother to look back at him.

"Well, well, well. Maybe you don't feel like dealing with me, but I feel like dealing with you," Ginny felt him pinch her butt.

This time she whirled around, temper blazing, "Bugger off Malfoy. I don't have anything to do with Slytherins, and that includes letting you grab my ass."

Draco Malfoy laughed coolly, "That may change little Weasley," his steel grey eyes scanned the crowd, "Where are your brother and Potty?"

"Being smart and staying away from you," she growled at him.

"Girls with tempers are such a turn-on," Draco took a step towards her.

Ginny stepped back, "Yeah, well boys who think they can get whatever they want whenever they want it are such a turn-_off_. Go to hell Malfoy," Ginny spun around and quickly made her way through the crowd up to the entrance hall. She had won that little verbal duel, but she hadn't wanted to stick around. She had a feeling that Malfoy could only be pushed so far.

* * *

Slightly flushed, Ginny slid into a seat at the Gryffindor table between Hermione and Harry, "Sorry I'm late, I got waylaid by Malfoy."

Ron leaned forward from next to Hermione so that he could see his sister, "That slimy git," he grumbled, "He cornered Harry and me on the train to ask where you were."

"I thought you said that he was just full of his normal abuse," Ginny looked up.

"Well he _was_," Harry responded, "but he was also interested in your whereabouts."

Ginny grimaced. Having Malfoy interested in her in any way at all was a bad thing. She didn't feel like having to fend him off throughout the year.

"Don't worry about it, Ginny" Hermione said briskly, "He can't do anything to you here. There are always people around."

"Yeah, I s'pose," Ginny muttered, spooning mashed potatoes onto her plate from a nearby bowl.

Conversation turned to other topics, and Ginny found herself cheering-up, that is, until she made the mistake of looking towards to the Slytherin table. Draco made eye contact with her and smirked. Ginny scowled back in return, feeling somewhat violated by Malfoy's unceasing attention.

Harry was also preoccupied. He constantly found himself staring at Ginny, who had become lovely over the summer. She had never been a bad-looking girl, he thought, but now she was breathtaking. The light from the suspended candles reflected off of her titan hair and her milky skin was flushed rose. Once she caught him staring, but she had only smiled at him in a gentle sort of way. Harry had flushed and hurriedly turned away.

After the dishes emptied of the food, the student rose from their tables and made their way out of the hall and to their respective dormitories. Harry, Hermione, Ginny and Ron slowly made their way up a staircase

_I'll be waiting for you tonight, Weasley_

Ginny's head jerked around. None of the other seemed to have heard it. Looking cautiously over the banister, her eyes fell on Malfoy, standing in a group of Slytherins. As though he could feel her eyes on him, He looked up, again smirking at her. Ginny quickly turned away. What was he playing at? Malfoy couldn't honestly believe that Ginny would be willing to hookup with him. And if he did...how dare he?! Ginny frowned.

"What's up Gin?" Harry had dropped back, "Now you're the one making funny expressions."

Ginny gave a small laugh, "Just Malfoy. He seems to be on a hunt for me. I don't like it."

"Don't blame you. But really, don't worry about him. Hermione's right, there's nothing he can do to you. You're really well-protected here."

"Yes," Ginny slipped her arm through Harry's, resting her head against him. Harry felt happiness bubbling-up inside him, and he smiled down at the girl next to him.

When they reached the portrait of the fat lady, Ginny withdrew her arm, and standing on slight tiptoes, she gave Harry a kiss on the cheek, "Sweet dreams."

"Thanks Gin. You too," she nodded at him, "Oh, and Gin?" she turned back to look at Harry, "Don't let Malfoy get to you."

"I won't," Ginny threw a smile back over her shoulder and then climbed in through the portrait hole. Harry leaned against the wall, thinking. Hearing a slight noise, he straightened up; Ealia was coming down the hall towards him.

* * *

A/N: See, this one was a bit shorter. Sorry if relationship stuff is still a bit unclear. I'm still trying to decide what exactly I'm going to do. REVIEW!! :-) 


	3. Chapter Three

A/N Ok, so I decided what to do. I'm going to employ the drifting focus technique to do the story-telling. That way I can get in all of the characters' feelings. Yay! Oh, and you guys? Review please.

Harry turned to get back into the Gryffindor common room, but saw to his disappointment, that the Fat Lady had left the portrait. To go visiting, no doubt, he thought. Sticking his hand into his pocket, Harry found his wand, and took a firm grasp on it just in case the need to use it should arise.

"You don't need your wand, silly," Ealia's sweet voice cut through the hall's silence.

Harry stared at her, nonplussed. How could she know he was holding onto his wand? "Erm...what do you want...?"

"I'm trying to find my way to the Gryffindor common room. I'm new this year, just moved to London from Wales and I'm in Gryffindor."

"I didn't see you get sorted..." Harry said suspiciously. What he really wanted to know was how she'd gotten into his room at Privet Drive and why she seemed to be following him around.

"Oh," she laughed, "They put me in Gryffindor before I got here. It seems it's the closest thing to my old House at my other school. I'm Lucy by the way."

This last statement caught Harry completely off-guard, "You're....What?"

The girl (Lucy, Harry supposed) laughed again, "The name's Lucy. Lucy Llewellyn. And you're Harry Potter, right?"

"Yes," and before he could stop himself, Harry added, "Listen, you, erm, don't happen to have a twin sister or anything, do you?"

"No," Lucy stared at him, a puzzled expression on her face, "Why?"

"Oh. Nothing," What was going on here? Harry wondered whether he was going mad. Then another thought occurred to him, "How did you know I was holding onto my wand when you saw me?"

"I'm psychic," she teased, "No, I just could tell you were gripping something very tightly in your pocket and I just assumed that it was your wand. I'm guessing that I was correct?" Lucy raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. The Gryffindor entrance is right here," Harry gestured to the empty painting on the wall, "But we can't get in because the Fat Lady's gone for a stroll."

Lucy grinned at him, "Well, then, what do you say, shall we go for a stroll too? I need someone to show me around the castle before classes start tomorrow."

Harry's first instinct was to say no, but then Lucy slipped her arm through his and Harry decided that he might as well show her around. It wasn't quite 7:30 and they had until 9:00 to wander around outside their common room, "Yeah, all right." Harry looked down at Lucy's blonde head as she lead him away from the portrait. The way she looked now, she reminded him strongly of Fleur Delacour...not that that was a bad thing. Then he mentally slapped himself. He shouldn't be thinking thoughts like that at all, not while he had made Ginny believe that he liked her.

Harry realized that Lucy had said something, "What?"

"I asked whether you'd show me where the Divination room is. I heard that it's quite easy to get lost on one's way up to it."

"Yeah. Yeah it is. Ron and I got lost on our way to it 3rd year. We had to ask a mad knight for help," Harry grinned at the memory.

Lucy smiled up at him, her clear blue eyes made Harry take an involuntary breath in, "So it's in a tower, right?"

"Yes," Harry was beginning to feel awkward. He had no idea who Lucy was. Not really anyway. Plus he was feeling guilty because of Ginny, "Erm, do you want to visit the tower another time? We don't have Divination until Wednesday."

Lucy raised her eyebrows, "We?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, students in Gryffindor tend to take all the same classes on the same schedule. At least the core ones, anyway."

"Oh. I thought you were keen on showing me about. What changed?" she winked up at him.

"I'm just a bit tired," Harry pulled his arm out from hers. The close contact was beginning to make him feel weak at the knees.

"All right then," Lucy's shoulders sagged slightly, "But I really need someone to show me about. Can you tell me who I can ask?"

This made Harry feel bad. Maybe she **was** only interested in seeing the castle, "I'll show you around. You've made me feel like a prat," Harry gave a mock sigh of defeat.

Lucy grinned at him, "Good."

The two set off down the torch-lit hallway, chatting amiably.

"Why'd you move to London?" Harry asked.

"My father got a job at the Ministry and he didn't feel like living so far away from it, so we moved. I miss my friends terribly."

"You'll make new ones here in no time. Just keep an eye for the Slytherins; they're a nasty lot."

"Yeah, well I've already got one friend, haven't I?" Lucy nudged him in the side. Harry felt himself flush and was glad of the dim light. He couldn't figure out why Lucy affected him this way. Even Ginny, who he was quite fond of, didn't make him feel this way.

"Erm, yeah, sure," Harry said awkwardly.

"So what's it like being famous, Harry?"

"Well it's really a bit of a pain. People are always either hating you or loving you. It's not as glamorous as most people think it would be."

"Yeah I could imagine that," Lucy nodded, "It must be hard to judge who your friends are too. I mean, some people are probably more interested in being associated with you because of your fame rather than for who you are."

"Exactly," Harry looked at Lucy with respect. He was pleased that she seemed to understand his situation so well, "Which group do you fall into?" he smiled down at her.

"Which do _you_ think?" Lucy hooked her arm through Harry's again, and Harry felt a tingle go up his spine.

"The second group, I suppose."

"Right on," Lucy looked around, "Where's the Divination Tower? Are we nearly there?"

Harry gave a small start. He'd completely forgotten what they'd been doing, "Oh yeah, we go up these stairs here."

After about another five minutes of walking they found themselves beneath the trap door to the Divination classroom.

"Is that the entrance?" Lucy gestured at the square trapdoor set in the ceiling.

"Yeah. A ladder comes down when the bell rings and we all climb up."

"Oh. Interesting," Harry felt her eyes on him and turned to look down at her, "So Harry...have you got a girlfriend?"

This time Harry really blushed. He wasn't quite sure how to answer that question, "I...erm...well...I, no, not really."

"Good," and before he knew what had happened, Lucy had pushed him against a wall and started kissing him. This was a whole new sort of situation for him. Harry was not used to the girl being the one to initiate contact the way Lucy had.

Harry wrenched his lips away from hers, "Listen, Lucy, I don't--" But Lucy's hand snaked underneath his robes and she trailed her fingers down his chest. Harry stifled a slight groan, and leaned down to kiss her again, letting his emotion take him. He let his hands trail down her back, deepening the kiss. Lucy sighed into his mouth and pressed herself closer. Then suddenly Harry jerked away. This wasn't right.

"No Lucy. We can't do this now. I don't know you well-enough for one, and I don't want to give you any wrong ideas about my feelings for you when I haven't figured them out myself."

"Well in that case, I suppose we had better go back to Gryffindor," Lucy smiled and took his hand to lead him back over to the stairs. Harry blinked at her reaction. From his knowldege of girls he had expected shouting or sulking, but certainly not good-natured understanding.

"Yeah. All right then."

Harry and Lucy made their way through the hallways back to the portrait. Harry was very pleased to see that the Fat Lady had returned, and he hurriedly gave the password. The two climbed through the portrait hole and entered the common room. Harry was glad to see that neither Ron or Hermione, or, for that matter, Ginny was in sight, which cleared him from having to answer any awkward questions.

Lucy walked over to a group of girls who had hailed her when she had entered the room. Harry sank down into his favorite armchair by the fire and heaved a sigh. He rubbed his head and tried to figure out just what he was going to do.

"Harry! _There_ you are," He looked up to see Hermione hurrying towards him, "Ron and I were beginning to wonder where you'd got to."

"I fancied a walk. I was just wandering about," Harry replied.

"Hermione, I haven't been able to--Oh! Harry! Good. Glad to see you mate. Wondered where you'd disappeared to," Ron appeared next to Hermione.

"What are we, joined at the hip?" Harry looked at his two best friends, wondering why they seemed so interested where he had been.

"No, well, it's just that McGonagall came in and, erm, made an announcement when you were gone," Ron looked slightly flustered and exchanged a glance with Hermione.

"And...?" Harry was beginning to feel slightly exasperated.

"Apparently the halls aren't safe to be in. She didn't tell us why though," Hermione added quickly at Harry's look.

"She hinted at some spirit, a girl I think," Ron said.

Harry felt himself go cold, "A girl?"

"Yes, a girl Harry," Then seeing Harry's face go pale, Ron asked "Are you all right, mate?"

"What? Yeah. Tired though. I'm going to bed," Harry got out of his chair and hurried over to the entrance of the boys' dormitory. What was going on?! Was Lucy the spirit, or was he just going barking mad? After undressing, Harry crawled into his bed and curled-up. Something wasn't right. That much, at least, he knew for certain.

A/N: REVIEW! Click the purple button that says review and review! :-)


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter 4

A/N: And now I am shifting to Ginny. Keep in mind that this chapter is starting at the same place that the last chapter started at. Ginny has just gone into the portrait hole after having left Harry in the hall. REVIEW!

* * *

Once Ginny was inside the portrait hole, she paused on the stairs that led up to the common room and leaned against the wall. She didn't know what to think about Harry. Yes she liked him quite a lot, but she still couldn't shake the feeling that somehow they just weren't a good romantic match. Harry just seemed too much like a loner for her. He was brooding much of the time--that's not to say that he never lightened-up and had fun, but as he had gotten older, he had withdrawn more and more. Ginny, on the otherhand, was vibrant and full of life.

She sighed and turned to finish her ascent into the common room. Upon entering, she spotted Hermione in the corner, a big book open on her lap, her feet curled beneath her.

"Hermione," Ginny called her name. Hermione looked up and smiled at Ginny.

"Hi Ginny."

"Out on the stairs just now Malfoy told me he'd be waiting for me. I don't know what to do," Ginny sat down in the chair across from Hermione's.

Hermione frowned, "But he wasn't anywhere near us on the stairs, how...?"

"It was like he sent me a thought or something. It just kind of appeared in my head. That or he knows a spell for making his voice silent to everyone but the one the message is intended for."

"There is a spell like that...but it's highly advanced. I wouldn't have thought that Malfoy would know how to work it," Hermione furrowed her brow, clearly thinking.

"Yes, but anyway, it's beginning to scare me a bit. Especially because after I heard him say it, I looked down over the stairs to see if he was anywhere about, and he was standing below with a group of Slytherins. He looked up at me though, like he was expecting me to look down at him. It was creepy."

Hermione reached across the gap between them and patted Ginny's shoulder, "Really Ginny, you shouldn't worry about it. You can always go to Dumbledore if it gets really bad. Malfoy's a lot of talk, I doubt that he would do anything to you."

"But you see, that's what scares me. I don't think he's a lot of talk when it comes to this sort of thing, not if the stories I've heard are true. Half the school has known him as the Slytherin Sex-God since 5th year. I've heard that he could have a different girl every night of the week if he wanted, and that he usually wants to."

"He can't kidnap you though. You would only go by your own free-will, and from what I'm seeing, you don't seem to be too eager to go anywhere with him," Hermione smiled at her friend.

Ginny smiled back at Hermione, but her brain was whirling. That was part of the problem--going by her own free will. She hated to even admit it to herself, but she was split. Half of her, the illogical half, Ginny supposed, _wanted_ to go with Malfoy. The other half, the smart half, was disgusted by both Malfoy's offer and by the half of Ginny that wanted to take him up on it. It wouldn't be so much of a problem except that Malfoy had gotten extremely good-looking, and Ginny knew that she was as prone to lust as was any other teenager. The second problem was Harry. She hadn't worked out quite what to do about him.

"Ginny, are you all right?" Hermione had noticed her prolonged silence.

Ginny mentally shook herself, "What? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just thinking. Listen, I think I'm going to take a walk."

"Okay, just keep an eye out for Malfoy...just in case," Hermione laughed and then settled herself more comfortably in her chair, turning her attention back to her book.

Ginny rose from her chair and made her way through the chattering crowd to the exit. After climbing back out of the portrait hole, she stood in the corridor, suddenly not sure of where she wanted to go. Maybe she'd go to the kitchen to get some hot chocolate from the elves. Ever since Fred and George had showed her where the kitchen was and told her how to get in, Ginny made regular visits to it. Deciding that she would go to the kitchen, Ginny set off down the hallway, heading towards that stairs that would lead her straight down.

Just as she was about to put her foot on the first stair, a voice called to her from the shadows, "If it isn't the littlest Weasley. I thought that you might not be able to stay put in that common room of yours..."

Ginny recognized the voice immediately, and her heart pounded in her chest. No one else was about, and she didn't really fancy being dragged off by Malfoy, "Get lost Malfoy," she retorted, and was pleased to hear that her voice didn't show any signs of her discomfot.

Malfoy tsked and appeared from behind a suit of armor and moved towards her. Ginny of course backed-up. Malfoy, noticing her movement, smirked, "What? Running away little Weasley? But we haven't even had a chance to play." He made a grab for her arm, but Ginny jumped backwards.

Ginny glared at him, "You must be desperate Malfoy, to hang around behind a suit of armor in the hopes of the appearance of a girl. Haven't you got anything else to be doing?"

Malfoy flushed angrily at Ginny's words, but his voice was soft, "I am never desperate, but once I know what I want, I usually get it. I make it my business to see that I get it." He advanced towards Ginny again, but this time she dodged sideways and down the stairs.

"Well Malfoy, I have no intention of either giving in to your demands or of being caught by you. I suggest you find a better way to spend your time," with that, Ginny turned and hurried down the next flight of stairs. She heard footsteps behind her, and her carefully controlled panic overtook her and she ran down the stairs as fast as she could. Her hair flying out behind her like flame.

He cornered her in the hallway before she managed to get to the kitchen. Ginny could see the painting of the fruits down the hallway. Malfoy had pinioned her to the wall, his arms on either side of her body.

"Malfoy, get off of me!" Ginny struggled without any sort of success.

"I'm not **on** you...yet," Malfoy smirked at her again, and even in the dim light, Ginny could see his perfectly straight white teeth glinting at her. He was so handsome....then horrified by what she was thinking, Ginny renewed her struggles.

This time she caught him off guard and managed to duck out from under his arm. Unfortunately it wasn't the arm closest to the kitchen, so Ginny was forced to run in the opposite direction of where she wanted to go. This time Malfoy grabbed the back of Ginny's robes and she over balanced and fell over. Luckily for her, Malfoy fell down as well, giving Ginny a chance to get to her feet.

"You won't get away from me this time, Weasley," Malfoy growled at her, this time pressing himself against her and backing her against the wall again.

"If my brother or Harry finds out what you've done..." Ginny stormed, her hair was nearly crackling with her anger.

"Ooo. Weasel and Potty. That's a frightening thought," He leaned down towards her, as though he was going to kiss her, but Ginny, even though she was beginning to feel weak around the knees because of the prolonged contact, hadn't lost her head completely. She turned her head suddenly, so that all Malfoy got was her ear and some hair.

"Watch your mouth, Malfoy," Ginny spat, "We'll see how long it is before you end-up in Azkaban with that death-eater father of yours."

At this Malfoy paled in anger, a muscle twitching in his jaw, "Don't you dare talk about my father!"

"Then don't talk about my brother and Harry!" Ginny retorted.

Suddenly they heard voices down the hall. It sounded like Dean a Seamus.

"But I still don't see what's so great about kicking a ball about on the ground!" one voice was saying.

"You just don't understand it," the other voice (that's Dean, Ginny thought to herself) returned huffily.

Malfoy froze, squinting down the darkened hall, and then abruptly released Ginny, "You got lucky this time, Weasley," and he turned and swept away in the opposite direction from the one Dean and Seamus were coming from. Heading back to the Slytherin dungeons no doubt. Ginny leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. She promised herself that she wouldn't walk alone in the halls again.

"Hey! Ginny! What're you doing down here?" Dean's voice met her ears, and she turned to see him and Seamus walking towards her.

"I just thought I'd go to the kitchen and get some hot chocolate. It was too crowded in the common room. What're you doing down here?"

"Hermione sent us down to find you," Seamus said.

"Why?"

"McGonagall came in and made an announcement after you left. Apparently there's a potentially dangerous spirit loose. The teachers don't know where it came from, but they don't want students wandering around just incase it's got malicious intents," Dean explained.

"So yeah, you'd better come back with us," Seamus looked up and down the corridor, "Sorry you won't be able to get your hot chocolate..."

"No, it's fine."

And together the three made there way back up to the portrait of the Fat Lady. Once Ginny thought she saw a flash of white at the end of one hallway that brought back memories of what Harry had described to her in the carriage on the way in to the school, but then she thought that she must have imagined it. Other then that, they made it back to the common room without event.

"Oh good, Ginny! I was worried that Dean and Seamus wouldn't be able to find you," Hermione descended upon Ginny the moment that she walked into the common room.

"I went down to the kitchen to get hot chocolate," Ginny replied, not feeling particularly like sharing all of the events of the evening with Hermione just then.

"Ron was out looking for Harry, but he came back on his own. Harry I mean. He's just gone up to bed I think."

"Mm," Ginny responded, "I think I'll turn in too. See you in the morning."

"Yes, all right," Hermione's attention was captured by Ron who had just come up by Hermione waving a piece of parchment at her, "I...what is it Ron?"

"I haven't got a clue about this essay. Will you help me out?"

"Ron! You really need to get your own work done and not wait until the last minute to do it!"

"It's not my fault I've got Quidditch practice nearly every night!" Ron crossed his arms angrily.

Ginny sighed. Knowing the way that those two went at it, they'd be arguing into the wee hours of morning. She turned and went into the girl's dormitory, shutting the door behind her. As she pulled on her pajamas, she went over what had happened in her mind. her last thought before falling asleep was that Malfoy really was quite good-looking.

* * *

A/N: Please review. It really isn't that difficult, you know.... Just click the little button in the corner that says review and write a few words of encouragement, discouragement, suggestions, or random nonsense. Just write something!

PS: I have a chapter 5 and a chapter 6, but fanfiction doesn't seem to like them, so you can't get to them through the scroll down menu...grrr. So just put a 5 or a 6 (depending on which chapter you want) where the 4 is in the url—right at the end.


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Harry stretched and yawned, squinting as the sun poured onto his face. He'd clearly forgotten to close the hangings on his bed last night. Reaching for his glasses, Harry sat up, and once having put them on, he stared around the dormitory. From the looks of things, he was the first one up; generally on Sundays everyone slept late. Ron lay on his side, a lump under the red blankets, snoring slightly. Harry grinned at his friend and swung his feet off the bed.

Five or so minutes later, after having gotten dressed, Harry climbed down the stairs into the deserted common room. The house-elves had already been up and there was a roaring fire in the fireplace. Harry sat down in an armchair facing the fire and ran a hand over his scar. It had started to twinge ever so slightly when he'd arrived back in the common room after his walk with Lucy and had been at it ever since.

Lucy. Now there was a whole other kettle of fish. Who was she? Harry wondered. Had it really just been a coincidence that she looked just like Ealia and also that McGonagall had given a warning about there being a spirit on the loose in the school? Harry didn't know, and he realized that he'd probably just make his brain go about in circles trying to figure the whole thing out.

"Hi Harry," a soft voice came from behind him. Harry started noticeably in his chair and turned to see who was there. He shouldn't have bothered, he thought, the voice alone should have been enough to let him know that Lucy had come down from the girls' dormitory on the other side of the common room.

"Oh. Hello," Harry responded, trying not to make eye-contact with her too blue eyes.

"Listen," she said, sitting down in the chair next to his and shaking her long blonde hair out of her face, "about last night. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable or anything. I was...erm...a bit forward. I know."

Harry felt himself go red, "Don't worry about it," and then, after seeing the somewhat skeptical look on her face, he added, "really."

"Well...ok, then. I just don't want you to get the wrong idea about me or anything. I mean my behavior last night was really out of character. I tend to be fairly shy. I dunno what got into me..."

Lucy's last words,'what got into me...' caused Harry to jerk his head up, "Did you hear Professor McGonagall's announcement last night?"

"No..." Lucy's face looked puzzled.

"Oh." Harry went back to staring at the fire.

"Was it something important?" Lucy pressed him.

"Well, apparently she said something about there being a spirit inside the school and that the teachers didn't know whether it was dangerous or not."

Understanding at what Harry was trying to get at dawned on Lucy's face, "You, you don't think that I was..._possessed _last night, do you?" Lucy asked in a whisper.

"I don't know. It's just that last night you strongly reminded me of of a creature that got into my bedroom over the summer," Harry glanced at her, "You still do, but not quite as strongly as you did last night."

"What sort of creature?"

"That's the thing, I'm not sure. I told Ginny Weasley about what had happened and she said it reminded her of something but that she couldn't think of what. And then I saw it--her I guess--at the train station just before I got onto the Hogwarts Express. It made me wonder whether, well, the spirit inside Hogwarts is the same thing that gave me a visit over the holidays."

Lucy's eyes widened, "I bet it is. That's probably why it used me instead of someone else--because I'm a bit like it."

"Yes..." Just then Harry's attention was drawn away to a thumping on the stairs to the boys' dormitory. Ron was coming down them somewhat unsteadily, his head inside a sweater that he was trying to pull on.

"Hey Harry," Ron greeted his friend brightly once he'd gotten the sweater on properly. His eyes then fell on Lucy and he turned pink, "Erm...hi," he said, staring. Lucy smiled.

"Oh yeah, Ron, this is Lucy, she's in our year, but new this term. Lucy, this is my mate Ron."

"Hi," Lucy grinned at Ron.

"Hi," said Ron again, this time it came out as a bit of a squeak. Clearly, Harry thought, Ron was finding Lucy incredibly attractive. He smirked to himself, Hermione was not going to be happy.

"I, erm, was wondering whether you wanted to grab a bit of breakfast and then go out to the Quidditch pitch and practice for awhile," Ron tore his eyes away from Lucy and turned to Harry when he said this.

"Sounds good to me. Lucy, want to come along?" Harry asked, turning to look at her.

"Ooo, yes. I love Quidditch. I was on my house team in Wales," a slight flicker of sadness went across her face, but it quickly disappeared and was replaced by excitement.

"Well, you're in luck then," said Harry, grinning, "We're having Chaser tryouts nest Thursday night. Have you got a broom?"

"Yes!" Lucy's blue eyes sparkled, "Count me in."

"Ron, Harry, you two weren't just going to leave me behind, were you?" Hermione's voice came from behind them and she came into view, smiling.

Ron gave a slight jump and turned around, "Er..no." Ron looked awkwardly at Harry. Just then Hermione's eyes fell on Lucy, and her smile wavered ever slightly, but not so slightly that Harry didn't catch the shift.

"Hermione, this is Lucy, Lucy, this is Hermione," he said, ever dutiful in his introductions.

"Oh yes, I know Hermione. We're in the same dorm," Lucy smiled.

"Hi Lucy," Hermione's tone was polite, but sounded oddly stiff to Harry's ears. From the way Ron was looking between the girls, Harry could tell that he heard it too.

"Well, let's go, then, shall we," Ron said in what was meant to be a cheerful manner.

"Yeah, let's go," Hermione walked past Lucy to join Ron.

Lucy had a hurt expression on her face and looked questioningly up at Harry, "Why...?"

"Don't mind her. She and Ron fancy eachother and I think that she's just a bit worried that you're going to steal him."

At this, Lucy laughed, "Steal Ron? 'Course not. Besides, I like you I think," she poked Harry in the side.

"I thought you said you were shy," Harry looked at Lucy suspiciously, worried that perhaps that spirit had got hold of her again.

"I am. But I don't see any point to backtracking to shyness after I've already shoved you up against a wall and kissed you."

Harry grinned, "That's true."

The four entered the Great Hall together, Hermione keeping a careful eye on Lucy, but after thirty minutes of eating and talking, when Lucy still hadn't made any sort of move on Ron, Hermione seemed to relax and become more friendly towards her.

Harry noticed Ginny enter the Great Hall looking slightly pale with Luna Lovegood, a Ravenclaw of the same year. The two had been on fairly friendly terms since their shared experience in the Ministry of Magic of fighting off Death Eaters. Harry made a mental note to catch Ginny at some point during the day to let her know exactly what was going on. His stomach twisted unpleasantly at the thought of telling Ginny that he didn't really think things would work out between them.

Once they were done eating, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Lucy pushed back their chairs and stood. Lucy, Harry, and Ron walked outside and headed to the Quidditch stadium while Hermione hurried off to the library. It seemed her distrust of Lucy had vanished over breakfast.

Just as Ron and Harry were about to mount their brooms and kick off (Lucy sat on the field as her broom was being sent to her from home and had not arrived yet), a familiar sneering voice met their ears.

"If it isn't Weasel and Potty," Malfoy and his two friends Crabbe and Goyle walked across the field towards them.

"Bugger off Malfoy," Ron said through gritted teeth. Harry said nothing but instead stared at the three like they were something very unpleasant on the sole of his shoe.

"Watch your mouth, Weasel. I came out here to give you a warning about your sister," Malfoy smirked.

Both Harry and Ron stiffened at his words, "What?" Ron snapped.

"Just that the littlest weasel is going to get herself into trouble if no one keeps an eye out for her. It's like leaving a mouse unguarded when there are hungry cats all around..." Malfoy's eyes glinted.

Harry's hand tightened on his broom, had Malfoy meant what he thought he had meant? Harry chanced a half-glance and Ron. Ron's ears were red and the knuckles of the hand that was holding his broom were white.

"You stay away from my sister, Malfoy!" Ron's voice shook with anger.

This time Malfoy laughed, "Make me, Weasel..." and still laughing, he and Crabbe and Goyle turned and walked away from the stunned group.

* * *

A/N: Two chapters in one day (this one is a tad bit shorter than the last one though)! How exciting! I made a changed to the last chapter because I realized that it didn't make sense. I have Ron and Hermione fighting over an essay that Ron hasn't done b/c of Quidditch practice. It then hit me that classes haven't started yet, so how could Ron not have done an essay, let alone be having Quidditch practice. So I decided to have the essay be one that Ron should have done over the summer holiday and his excuse for not doing it was a vacation that he went on with his family. Now the problem is more or less solved. And thanks to glitterwings who is my very first reviewer! I'm so glad that you like the story so far. Now as for the rest of you, follow in her footsteps and review! 


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter 6

Ginny awoke in the dark with a feeling of dread coiled in the pit of her stomach. She struggled to sit up and at the same time realized why it was so dark. The hangings on her bed were shut tightly, not allowing for the slightest chink of light to get in. She felt for the edge in the fabric, and upon finding it, pulled the curtains open, blinking in the sudden sunlight.

As her feet hit the floor, she realized why she had the feeling she had in her stomach. One gut-wrenching word: Malfoy. Who the hell did he think he was. She was still feeling dirty from the encounter last night. And she was furious at herself for letting even the tiniest part of her brain want her to give in to him.

Ginny was still grumbling to herself as she left the common room, putting a rubberband in her hair to keep it from falling into her face. She was ambushed a second later. This time she was ready for him. She dove her hand into her robes, pulling out her wand. She jabbed it into Malfoy's neck.

"Let me go right now, Malfoy, or a swear I will curse you!" Ginny said, "And I know some good ones too!"

Malfoy seemed to be surprised by Ginny's outburst and loosened his grip on her arm, "You have got some fight in you, little Weaslette, but I can fight too..."

"Don't call me Weasel or Weaslette or anything else like that either!" Ginny snarled at him.

"What are you doing?" Luna Lovegood came down the corridor towards them, with her usual dreamy expression, looking as though she'd just accidently stumbled into the hallway.

Malfoy started and dropped Ginny's arm, "You have a knack for getting out of tight places, Ginny," he hissed in her ear, "just like a weasel."

Ginny didn't react to Malfoy's weasel comment. She was too busy being stunned at his usage of her first name.

"Ginny. What were you and Draco doing?" Luna asked in a dreamy sort ofvoice. That was the thing about Luna, she always used everyone's first name, no matter who they were.

"Malfoy ambushed me when I came out of the Gryffindor common room," Ginny said, "He did it last night too."

"Hmm," Luna blinked her prominent eyes, "He's quite good-looking this year, isn't he?"

Thankfully, this seemed to be a rhetorical question, so Ginny didn't have to worry about answering it, "Do you want to go ahead down for breakfast, Luna?"

"Yes, all right," Luna nodded.

The two walked down the stairs together. Ginny kept a wary eye out for Malfoy, just in case he decided to pop out from any classrooms or out from behind columns. But instead of that happening, she got the voice again.

_Ginny, yes, I call you Ginny now, does that make you happy? I will be waiting for you by the Room of Requirement--_This, Ginny thought, did not bode well, but before she had time to think anymore, Malfoy's voice continued_--I expect you to meet me there, or I'll have to come get you myself. Remember, I usually get what I want._

Ginny felt herself pale. She did not want to meet Malfoy anywhere, but neither did she especially like the idea of him coming to cart her off with him. The bit about the Room of Requirement really bothered her.

It brought too many bad thoughts to mind as to what he wanted to use it for.

"Are you okay, Ginny?" even Luna, who was generally off in her own world, picked up on the fact that something was wrong.

Ginny made an attempt to smile, but it was rather weak, "Yeah, I'm fine."

They entered the Great Hall together, each going their own separate way to join their house table. As she sank into a set at the Gryffindor table, Ginny looked up and caught Harry looking at her. She sighed.

She'd have to find time today to tell him that she didn't think that it'd work out between them. She had far too much to worry about without adding Harry into the mix.

Ginny only poked at her food. Due to Malfoy's message, she had very little appetite at all, and what little was killed when she accidently looked up at the Slytherins' table and found Malfoy smirking at her in a suggestive manner. He made her blood run cold, he really did.

After sitting for as long as she could endure at the table, Ginny stood and exited the hall. She had made her decision. Wand held tightly in her hand, she made her way to the hallway where the Room of Requirement

was. She would go and meet Malfoy and tell him to piss off and not to bother her anymore. Ginny had feeling that all this sounded better in her mind than it would when it actually came to telling it to Malfoy.

She reached the corridor, stood ridgid, waiting for Malfoy to appear, and he did.

"Glad to see you could make it," he said, striding towards her.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Ginny refused to let her guard down.

"I would have thought that that would be obvious. I want to talk to you."

"_Talk_ to me?" Ginny raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

"Yes, Ginny, _talk_ to you. Ambushing you doesn't seem to be getting me anywhere," Malfoy leaned languidly against the wall opposite Ginny.

"What is it you want to talk about then?"

"Oh, I think it'll be a bit more of a monologue actually," Malfoy said, smirking his trademark Malfoy grin, "I have a bit of an offer. Treat me as an equal and as a friend, and I won't bother you anymore, but if you continue to snap at me, things will get much worse for you. Believe me."

"Fine, Malfoy. If it takes being nice to you to get you to get away from me, fine. I'll do it," Ginny heaved a disgusted sigh.

Malfoy looked surprised that he hadn't had to twist her arm, and for an instant, he lost his typical swagger, "I, oh, well ok."

"Is that all, Malfoy? Because I've got other things to do," Ginny shifted from one foot to the other.

"Yeah, yeah that's all."

Ginny turned around quickly and set off down the hall, not seeing the triumphant grin that split Malfoy's face.

"Wait a minute Weas—Ginny," Malfoy's voice called to her from the end of the hall, "Come back here. I forgot something."

Ginny stiffened, "What?"

"Come over here and I'll tell you."

Ginny warily made her way back to where Malfoy was still leaning against the wall. She looked at him expectantly, "What?" she asked again.

"By friendly I don't just mean ignoring me and not throwing any more insults my way. I mean saying hello when you see me and that sort of thing."

Ginny glared at Malfoy's smug face. The nerve of him, "And what do you think all your little death-eater Syltherin friends would have to say about that, Malfoy? I refuse to be used by you!"

"Manners, Ginny. You're not off to a very good start," Malfoy said smoothly.

"I wasn't insulting you, I was insulting other Slytherins. Your deal didn't say anything about other members of your house. So what would they think if I just started being friendly to you Malfoy?" Ginny's eyes flashed at him, "I'll tell you what they'd think, they'd think that I was just other one of your one night stands and that I actually thought you cared about me afterwards. You know what, Malfoy, if that's what your offer entails, then you can just shove it!"

Malfoy looked somewhat taken-aback by Ginny's outburst, "Ginny, that hadn't occurred to me, actually—"

"Oh sure it hadn't," Ginny retorted sarcastically.

"No, it really hadn't."

"Fine," she snapped, "I'm off now Malfoy. Try getting someone who's stupid enough to fall for your story next time," with that, Ginny whirled around and marched down the hallway, chin held high.

On the outside she was calm, but on the inside she was raging. How could he think that she would ever let herself be treated in such a way? The disgusting, twisted, foul, old—

"Ginny!"

"Oh. Hi Hermione," Ginny looked up at the sudden intrusion into her thoughts.

Hermione, who had been walking towards Ginny with a cheerful expression on her face, stopped and looked at her friend worriedly, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah. Fine. I'm fine," said Ginny in a fairly unconvincing manner. She was getting tired of having to lie about the way she was feeling, but she didn't really want to talk about everything just yet either.

"Hmm," Hermione looked at her friend quizzically.

"Well, no, I'm not. Not really, anyway. I don't really feel like talking about it right now, though."

"When you _do_ feel like talking about it, I'm here to listen. I might be able to help with whatever it is, although I've got a pretty good idea that it's a who and not a what."

Ginny raise her eyes, "Yeah, it's Malfoy, but I think I'm handling everything fine, so honestly, don't worry about me, Hermione."

"All right, then," Hermione sighed, "Listen, let's go have a game of Exploding Snap. I stole Ron's cards the other night."

Despite herself, Ginny giggled, "Okay."

As the two girls were climbing in through the portrait hole, Ron came rushing towards them, "Ginny! Ginny, are you all right?" he was flushed and breathing heavily.

"Yes..." Ginny looked at him curiously.

"Malfoy just came out to the Quidditch Pitch where Harry, Lucy, and I were and told us that we'd better keep an eye on you because he was going to get you."

"Oh."

"'Oh?!' '_Oh?!'_ Is that all you can say?" Ron was beside himself.

"Ron, things are fine. I'm fine. Stop shouting. Please," Ginny put a calming hand on her brother's arm.

"If he ever—if that, that horrible—how dare he?!" Ron gnashed his teeth.

"Listen, you know I can take care of myself. I promise I'll come for help if I need it, all right?" Ginny said, trying to reassure Ron who looked as though he was trying his best to rip his robes.

"I think she's right, Ron," Hermione said, "I think she'll be okay. Don't over-react"

"She's my sister Hermione! How can you tell me not to over-react?" Ron turned his anger toward Hermione.

"Ron! Don't start a fight over this," Ginny snapped, "Honestly!" She turned away from the two of them and climbed through the portrait hole, which had been open for them the entire time. Feeling extremely grumpy, Ginny flung herself into a chair, resting her chin in her hands. She had been bumped up to a higher level of potions, which meant that she would, in all likelihood, be in Malfoy's class. For the first time ever, as far as she could remember, she was not looking forward to the official start of term.

* * *

A/N: I have been a writing maniac over the last 24-hours.  I hope there are some readers out there who are enjoying it...  You know what would be a really great way to say thanks?  Review! ;-)  Seriously, if you get the opportunity, please please do. 

Just as a clarification, Malfoy goes out to see Ron, Harry, and Lucy on the Quidditch pitch after having met with Ginny outside of the Room of Requirement.  He was pretty pissed off by the way she blew him off and decided to go take out his anger on other people who cared about her.


	7. Chapter Seven

A/N: I just wanted to add another "sort-of" disclaimer and say that Lucy is completely my own, so no stealing! Not that I think you'd really want to, or anything, but I like stating that I own something... :-D

Chapter 7

Harry and Ron looked at eachother and then at Malfoy's retreating back.

"What the hell is he playing at?!" Ron fumed, the tips of his ears bright red.

"I dunno..." Harry glared at Malfoy's retreating back. Knowing Malfoy, he was probably planning something awful, "I don't like it though. We'd better keep an eye on Ginny."

"Yeah. Well I'm going to go find her before anything happens to her," Ron stalked across the field, his broom in tow.

Harry watched his friend leave, Ginny's words from the previous evening coming back to him. She'd said that she was really worried about Malfoy, that he'd somehow talked into her head. What was going on? He was getting tired of asking himself that question, but there didn't seem to be anything else to do at the moment where Ginny was concerned. Somehow, Harry thought, this year was turning out to be a lot more intense a lot earlier on than any of his previous years.

He had to do something about the spirit in the halls though. Harry figured that he ought to talk to Hermione before it got any later about what had happened over the summer. Out of everyone he knew, she'd be the most likely to know what exactly the creature was.

"Harry?" Harry looked around and saw Lucy, still sitting on the ground, staring up at him, "I share a dormitory with Ginny. I could try to keep an eye on her when you and Ron aren't around."

"You could try," he said, frowning slightly, "but I'm beginning to think that I shouldn't have suggested to Ron that he should watch her. They're likely to get into a row."

"Why?"

"Well, Ginny likes her independence. According to Hermione, she hated having Percy around--he's her older brother--because he'd always be hovering over her. She wants to be able to take care of herself I guess," Harry shrugged. Or maybe it was just a girl thing...he didn't understand them--girls. He and Ron were still waiting for Hermione to put together a book about interpreting girls and the weird things that they do.

"Well that's understandable," Lucy smiled, "Don't worry, I'll be discreet about it."

"All right," Harry's attention had already turned to something else, "Listen, I need to go find Hermione. I've got some stuff that I want to ask her about."

"Oh," Lucy looked slightly disappointed, "Okay then."

Harry felt slightly awkward, maybe he should have offered to stay down on the field to talk with Lucy, but then again, the spirit was important, "You can, er, come with me if you like. She's probably in the library."

"All right," Lucy looked a lot happier and stood-up.

They made their way up the lawn to the castle, talking about the upcoming Quidditch season. Harry was pleased that Lucy knew so much about it, because he couldn't imagine what he'd talk to her about if she didn't know much about it. After talking about international teams for awhile, Lucy brought up Quidditch at Hogwarts.

"I hope my parents get my broom to me in time. I really want to make it to try-outs," Lucy said.

"Mm," Harry nodded, not sure of what else he could reply with.

"Does Gryffindor have a good team?"

"Yeah, " Harry perked-up, finding that he could answer the question, "Yeah, we've won the house-cup for two years running."

"Oh good. Being on a winning team is always nice," Lucy grinned.

"Yeah... What sort of broom have you got?" Harry looked over at her.

"Nimbus 2001. I heard that you have a Firebolt. Is that true/" Her eyes were eager.

"Yes. My...my godfather sent it to me a couple years ago," Harry felt the familiar lump in his throat that he got whenever he thought of Sirius. He hoped that Lucy wouldn't notice that anything was wrong. Harry really didn't feel like going over the events that he had tried hard to push into the back of his mind.

If Lucy noticed anything, she said nothing, although she did make an attempt to change the subject, so maybe, Harry thought, she'd picked up on the fact that this was not a subject Harry wanted to take further, "So, have you thought anymore about what you're going to do about the spirit--thing--that's in the school?"

Relieved to no longer be on dangerous territory, Harry answered, "That's actually why I'm going up to talk to Hermione. I need to tell her about what happened over the summer. If anyone's got an idea about what's going on, it'll be her."

Lucy nodded thoughtfully, "She's the one who figured out that the monster in the Chamber of Secrets was a basilisk, right?"

Harry stared at her with surprise, "Where'd you hear about that."

"Just dormitory talk," Lucy shrugged. Harry stared at her a moment longer, feeling as though she was holding something back from him. There was something not quite normal about her. It wasn't anything in a _bad_ way really, but Harry couldn't quite put a finger on it either.

"What?" Lucy had caught him staring.

"Er..nothing...daydreaming," Harry tried to cover. They had reached the double doors leading into the castle, "So you're still coming to the library?"

"Yes," Lucy threw him an odd look, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Dunno, just checking," Harry was feeling decidedly flustered. He suddenly realized that Lucy seemed to be splitting him, Hermione, and Ron apart. Ever since that morning, the three of them hadn't been together much at all. As silly as it made him feel, Harry felt like the perceived division between the three was somehow weakening him--them.

Making their way through the corridors and up staircases they shoved open the library door. Hermione was exactly where Harry had thought she'd be: sitting at a table by herself, books piled around her.

"Hermione," groaned Harry, "classes haven't even officially started yet. How're Ron and I ever supposed to catch up to you?"

Hermione looked up to see who was talking, her serious expression dissolved into a smile when she saw who it was, "Harry! Sit down." She merely nodded to Lucy. Clearly she was not on completely friendly terms with the new girl.

"Listen, Hermione, I wanted to talk to you about something that happened over the summer holidays. I think it may be related to the spirit that Professor McGonagall warned us about."

"Really?" Hermione put down her quill and looked at Harry attentiviely.

"Yeah. I got visited by a--" Harry broke-off, trying to think of the best way to describe Ealia.

"Yes?" Hermione pressed.

"Well, I don't know what she is exactly. She looks like a girl, rather a lot like Lucy, actually, and she...er...tried to come on to me at the Dursleys. She sent me weird letters though first."

"Hmm," Hermione looked like she was concentrating, "Is that it? She just showed-up in your room and then left?"

"Well, no..." and Harry went on to tell her about the rest of the odd occurrences. When he mentioned the part about the white misty thing that had hovered over his head upon occasion as an after thought, Hermione jumped up.

"Harry! I think I know where to look, but give me time, ok? I'll get back to you about it," Hermione's eyes were shining, "The thing is, if it's what I think it is..." She trailed off, frowning.

"What?" Harry looked at her. Hermione only shrugged and shook her head and hurried off into the library.

"That takes care of that then, I suppose," Harry turned to look at Lucy, but she was gone. He stared around confusedly. Where had she gotten too? It didn't seem like Lucy would just wander off without a good reason. Outside she'd seemed very interested in talking to Hermione. Maybe she'd been offended by Hermione's slight rudeness...? But no, she was tougher than that, Harry was sure. Feeling slightly disconcerted, Harry left the library, deciding to go back to the common room before going to dinner.

As he was nearing the portrait hole, he had shouting coming from somewhere around the corner. Drawing his wand, he hurried toward the noise.

"Stay AWAY from me Malfoy!" the shout belonged to a clearly angry female.

"You didn't agree to my offer." the voice was low and menacing.

"OF COURSE I DIDN'T AGREE TO YOUR BLOODY OFFER! How thick do you suppose I AM?!

"Oh I know you're not thick, Ginny, but you knew that this would--"

"What the hell do you think you're doing Malfoy?!" Harry burst around the corner, his gaze falling upon Draco Malfoy who had Ginny Weasley's arm tight in his grasp.

Malfoy gave a slight start, but then his familiar sneer appeared on his face, "Well well well, if it isn't little Potty. Did you decide it was time to play the hero again, Potter?'

Furious though he was, Harry let the remark slide, keeping his attention on the issue at hand, "Let go of her Malfoy," Harry said through gritted teeth.

"Or what?" Draco smirked, tightening his grip on Ginny's wrist. She winced slightly in pain.

Not bother to answer, Harry strode forward, shoving Malfoy out of the way. Malfoy, surprised by Harry's sudden move, let go of Ginny.

"C'mon Ginny," Harry put his hand on Ginny's shoulder and steered her away from Malfoy, who stood glaring at them. He noticed that she was shaking. At first he thought it was because she was really upset, but then, after glancing at Ginny's face, he realized that she was shaking with fury.

"Are you ok, Gin?"

"Oh yes, fine. I just got cornered by Malfoy, but yes, Harry, I'm fine," the power of her outburst shocked him.

"Sorry. I didn't mean--"

"No. I'm sorry. I shouldn't take my frustration out on you," Ginny replied.

"Listen, erm, Gin, I dunno if this is the right time to bring this up with you," Harry paused, trying to think of the best way to tell Ginny that he didn't think that this was the best time for them to be in a relationship.

To Harry's surprise, Ginny seemed to have picked right up on where he was trying to go, "I agree. I don't think we should be together either."

Harry stared wide-eyed at her, "I, well, yes."

"We're just not a love match, Harry," Ginny's angry face dissolved into a smile, "But you and Lucy on the otherhand..."

"Er...what do you mean?" Harry felt his face heat up.

"Oh c'mon Harry, we're not all blind you know. You and she have been together nearly nonstop since we all got to Hogwarts."

Harry suddenly found that he didn't want to talk about Lucy at all. To his relief, they were in front of the Fat Lady. Muttering the password, he climbed inside, closely followed by Ginny.

"I'm going to go to bed," Harry said, turning toward the boys' dormitory staircase.

Ginny looked at Harry with some concern, "What's wrong?"

"Erm, just a headache. I didn't sleep too well last night," with that Harry climbed the steps and disappeared through the door. He didn't know quite what was wrong, he just was suddenly feeling like something was really wrong.

Harry slipped into his bed, still mulling over his odd assortment of feelings. Surprisingly, Harry drifted off to sleep fairly quickly. A strange dream gripped him as he fell into sleep's grasp.

He was sitting in the darkened common room in his favorite armchair. A pearly white figure, looking almost like the spitting image of Lucy, flowed through the wall opposite him: Ealia

"Harry," she breathed in an almost malicious manner, "Harry I gave you a chance. You refused to take it. Now you'll pay. No one slights a--" here she broke off, smirking in a cruel way, "No, I can't say that. We can't have Miss Granger running about discovering what I am, can we? I'll be taking care of her tonight as well."

In the dream Harry was frozen in his chair. He couldn't lift so much as a finger as Ealia drifted toward him. She raised her hand and ran it down his chest, and as she did so, it felt as though knives were cutting into his skin.

Ealia laughed at his pain, "It hurts. I know. She'll be feeling it next...worse"

Harry's mouth became unfrozen, "Hermione?" he asked, feeling panic well up in his breast.

"Oh no. No no no. I have something quite different in mind for her. No, I'm talking about Lucy, my double."

Harry tried to call out a warning, but his mouth was stuck again. Ealia seemed to know this and she smirked her cruel smile again, "Sorry my darling." She drifted off weightlessly to the girls' dormitory and slipped through the closed door. A split second later, screams erupted. Horrified, panicked screams.

Harry jerked awake, breathing heavily, the screams still echoing inside his skull. However, all was silent around him. His heart still beating wildly, Harry lay back down, settling himself against his pillow.

"It was just a dream...just a dream...just a dream," Harry murmured. Just after he'd dropped off to sleep for the second time, a cool laugh blew through the dormitory, causing the sleeping boys to twist uncomfortably.

A/N: Ok, so it's not drastically longer (it's a tad longer though), _and_ it took awhile to get done. Sorry guys. :-( I'm back at school, and that's absorbing a lot of my time. Bleh. I'm trying my hardest though. Really I am.

Lioma Darksong: thanks for the detailed review. I really appreciate it. In all honesty, I don't know exactly where I'm going with this story. I have a few ideas though. I think I'll just see where it takes me. I liked your idea for the longer chapters, but I have a problem of running out of good ideas in a chapter unless I stick a couple of chapters together, which I guess I could do, but then I'd probably end-up updating once every 2 weeks or something, and until I start getting more reviews, I want it to be up for all to see for as often as possible. After it gets a wider circle of readers--I guess--I'll start trying to make chapters longer. But thanks again. :-)


	8. Chapter Eight

A/N: Agh. So sorry for the delay. I've been swamped. My teachers have all decided that it would be a good idea to assign lots of homework and projects that are to be due at approximately the same time, plus I've got rehearsal for Romeo and Juliet nearly every day, and I just got back in town from being in Ohio for Thanksgiving. So be forewarned, updates may be slow to come, and I can't guarantee that they'll be as long as you'd like. So far I haven't had anything shorter than 5 pages, and I can promise (or try to) not to go beneath that quota. But really, I _am_ trying... :-)

Chapter 8

Ginny awoke with a start, her heart pounding. Staying absolutely still, she strained her eyes, trying to see into the inky blackness. Something had definitely yanked her out of slumber, and it must have been something fairly big, because Ginny was not used to waking up in the middle of the night.

Just as she felt the tension in her limbs slackening and she'd decided she'd imagined it all, Ginny heard a faint rushing sound, rather like a breath of wind. Then she saw a glow coming from the part of the dormitory where the door was. It was a bluish icy sort of glow, and by its light she could make out several chairs and a few discarded robes.

Though Ginny wanted to tear her eyes away and bury herself beneath her covers, she found herself unable to do so. In the glow, Ginny saw a face and body take shape. A sudden shock ran through her when she realized that the--what could it be called?--creature, spirit, looked just like Lucy. But no, it couldn't be Lucy. Ginny could see Lucy's sleeping form in the bed next to her's. Harry's visitor! This second thought hit her immediately after she had dismissed the first. But what was it doing in the girls' dormitory?

As if in answer to her unspoken question, the creature drifted smoothly across the floor, like a rather large wisp of smoke, toward Lucy's bed, paying no mind to any of the other sleeping girls.

A smile crossed the spirit's face, "Lucy..." it stretched its arms out toward Lucy as though wanting to embrace her and advanced on her. Ginny watched wide-eyed, her heart thudding, as the creature reached Lucy. For an instant, Lucy's sleeping form took on an icy glow as the creature seemed to envelope her, then the blue disappeared and the dormitory returned to blackness.

Moments later, Lucy began to thrash and cry out, "No! No no no no! Stay away from me, leave me alone!"

Ginny sat blot upright, feeling like she ought to do something but not quite sure of what. As abruptly as the cries had begun, they ceased. To Ginny's surprise, none of the other girls in the dormitory had stirred.

Her attention snapped back to Lucy when a movement caught her eye. Lucy was getting out of bed. A sudden beam of moonlight from an uncurtained window illuminated her, making it possible for Ginny to see her every movement.

Lucy walked over to Hermione's bed, and looking down on her, raised her wand, "Crucio!"

The dormitory erupted with the sound of Hermione's screams.

"I'll make it so that you don't meddle with me again. You'll be staying away from harry from now on," hissed Lucy in a chilling voice. She raised her wand again, "Soulus Evaporatus!"

There was a flash of blinding blue light, a wooshing sound, and Hermione suddenly fell limp, her body sliding to the floor with a soft thud. Lucy looked triumphant.

Ginny, who had been silent through the whole ordeal, suddenly found her voice and began to scream. All through the dormitory girls jerked awake, staring in shock at Ginny.

"What's going--" whoever was speaking never got to finish. Lucy had whirled around and hit the girl with the Cruciatus Curse. Fresh screams ripped the room, each girls' voice adding to the chorus.

Ginny suddenly regained her head and snatched up her wand from the oak table at her side. Launching herself out of bed, she pointed it at Lucy, "STUPEFY!" she shouted.

Lucy tumbled to the ground, her wand sliding out of her grasp, but she had not been knocked out as an ordinary wizard or witch would have been. Picking up her wand, she stood again, facing Ginny, "Ginevra Weasley, " Lucy growled, "I could make you feel such pain that you would wish that you had never been born," she paused, her blue eyes boring into Ginny's brown ones, "But as I am forgiving, I will not do so," Lucy turned to address the rest of the horrified girls in the room, "I will, however, make you all forget everything you have seen, most specifically the demise of Miss Granger."

For the first time, many of the girls saw Hermione lying on the floor, her eyes closed, "Oh she is not dead, oh no, " laughed Lucy in response to their looks, "No, I have merely caused her soul to leave her, rather like the dementor's kiss," Lucy smiled blandly, "But now I must make you all forget..." she raised her wand again, and before anyone had time to react, she cried out, "Obliviate!" One by one, as though hit by an invisible object, the girls slumped backwards into their beds, their eyes sliding out of focus.

Ginny was the last to go and she felt as though a woolly blanket were being pulled across her mind, wiping the events of the night away. She tried desperately to hang on to any shred of memory, but drowsiness was taking over. Her eyes closed as her head touched the pillow, sleep pulling her away from consciousness.

The next morning, Ginny awoke feeling extremely rested. She stretched, thinking how relieved she was to have had everything out with Harry. It had been so nice to discover that they were both on the same page. And Malfoy? Well, Malfoy was Malfoy. She'd figure something out. Maybe Hermione could help her.

Ginny swung her feet out of bed, feeling for her slippers. Upon standing, she nearly fell over. There, stretched on the floor between Hermione's and Lucy's beds, was Hermione.

"Oh God..." Ginny breathed. Hoping for the best she knelt beside her friend and shook her shoulder, praying that somehow during the course of the night she had tumbled out of bed.

Ginny's heart gave a leap as Hermione's eyes opened, she was okay! But then, seeing the blank empty stare that Hermione was giving her, Ginny let out a small sob. What had happened? She looked like someone who had been given the dementor's kiss. Ginny had seen pictures of such people at the Ministry. Their expressions were all flat and dull, and completely uncaring. Such was the look on Hermione's face. But how could a dementor have possibly gotten to Hermione?

By this time, the other girls in the dormitory had gathered around.

"What happened?"

"What should we do?"

"Go get Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey!"

The air was filled with the tense, worried voices of Ginny's dorm-mates. The only one who wasn't there, Ginny realized as she scanned the crowd, was Lucy. Had something happened to her as well? Ginny jumped to her feet and pushed through those who were gathered around. Just as she reached the door, it flew open, revealing Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey, both of whom were looking extremely worried.

Madam Pomfrey hurried over to Hermione's limp form while Professor McGonagall hustled the rest of the students out. Many were in shock, Ginny was silently crying, all were frightened. The girls settled themselves into the plush red armchairs in the common room, and soon the boys began to filter down from their dormitory to see what the fuss was about.

"Ginny, what happened?" Ron's face appeared over the back of her chair.

"It's H-Hermione. She's b-been attacked," Ginny cried harder.

Ron looked visibly shocked at the news, but tried to soothe his sister, "Shh. I'm sure she'll be all right. Madam Pomfrey will sort her out," he pattered Ginny's back somewhat awkwardly, "What attacked her?"

"I d-don't know. I j-just w-woke up and f-found her that w-way," but as she said this, Ginny had a fleeting feeling that she had forgotten something--something important.

"Found her what way?" Ron asked. Though she knew her brother was trying to be kind, Ginny was beginning to find him annoying.

"Just on th-the g-ground. I think that h-her soul is...is...g-gone."

"WHAT?!" Ron gripped the side of Ginny's chair so hard his knuckles turned white.

"Yes."

Ron sank to the ground, his face white, and Ginny realized that maybe she should have tried to break the news to Ron in a more delicate manner. In her own misery, she had forgotten that her brother and Hermione were very close, even if they wouldn't admit it to one another.

"Ginny, are you all right?" Harry rushed over to her huddled form, nearly tripping over Ron, "Ron! What's wrong?!" He looked between the concernedly.

Ginny took a deep breath and tried to pull herself together, knowing that Ron wasn't really in any state to do explaining, "Yes, I'm fine--so's Ron," she cast him a worried look, "but Hermione's not."

Like Ron, Harry held on to Ginny's chair to keep himself upright. He unconciously dropped his voice to a whisper, "What happened to her?"

"Well," Ginny struggled to keep her voice even, and felt her throat constrict, "I don't know for sure because McGonagall made us all leave the dormitory, but when I was looking at her--Hermione I mean--before McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey got there, she seemed...vacant. And I...oh Harry, I think her soul's gone!" here Ginny last her self-control and tears cascaded down her cheeks.

Harry held himself together far better than Ginny had expected. His face tautened and his eyes widened, but he didn't allow himself to collapse, "But you're not _positive_ that that's what happened, right?" It was clear to Ginny that Harry was taking pains to keep emotion out of his voice.

"Right, but..." Ginny stopped. She would have said more about the way Hermione had been lying on the floor, but she didn't trust herself to speak. She also didn't want to make Harry and Ron lose the last bit of hope that they were clinging to.

"Gryffindors," Professor McGonagall's crisp voice cut through the subdues chatter in the common room, "There has been an attack on one of our students. Miss Granger is currently being taken to the Hospital Wing. I want to assure you all that the utmost is being done to insure that Miss Granger will recover and also that you will remain safe. Now please go down to breakfast where you will receive your schedules. The Headmaster and I are going to be searching the tower and we do not want any of you underfoot," Professor McGonagall's glasses glinted sternly.

Harry groaned, "Schedules! I forgot that classes start today."

"Yeah..." Ron struggled to his feet. He and Harry moved toward the portrait hole, "Coming Ginny?"

"In a minute," Ginny walked over to Professor McGonagall, "Professor?"

Professor McGonagall looked down at Ginny, "What is it, Miss Weasley?"

"I just wondered whether you knew what happened to Hermione."

"We do not know right now. Now run along, Miss Weasley."

Ginny left the common room, her hands deep in her robe pockets. Why couldn't there ever be what could be considered a "normal" year at Hogwarts? As she walked down the main staircase, she ran smack into Draco Malfoy.

"Missing your mudblood friend?" he smirked.

Ginny's face darkened in anger, "How do you know about that?"

""Gryffindors don't know how to keep their mouths shut. They were talking about it all over the Great Hall," Malfoy looked smug, "Where are your brother and Potty? Crying their eyes out in the toilet?"

"They came down to breakfast, actually," Ginny replied coolly.

"Oh but they didn't. I've been down there, they weren't there. So how's it feel to be second to a mudblood? Guess your brother and Potty care more about know-it-all Granger than about you."

Ginny lost it. There was a sickening crack as her fist collided with Malfoy's nose. Malfoy doubled over, his hands covering his face.

"Don't you EVER talk that way about Hermione, Harry, and my brother again!" Ginny shouted, "You are despicable." she got a strange sense of satisfaction from seeing Malfoy in pain and covered in blood.

With a last look at him, she ran back up the stairs. Ginny felt that she needed to find Harry and Ron. Something didn't feel right, not to mention that she had the sensation that she was forgetting something incredibly important--what?

Unfortunately, she had the bad luck to run into Snape, "Miss Weasley," he said in sibilant tones, "What are you doing? If I have heard the news rightly, you are to be in the Great Hall, eating breakfast and receiving your schedule. You are certainly not to be wandering alone in the empty hallways."

Her schedule! Ginny had completely forgotten about it, but Ron and Harry were much more important; she stared defiantly at Snape.

"I suggest you return to the Great Hall _now_, Miss Weasley, or I shall be forced to take points from Gryffindor," Professor Snape's eyes glittered dangerously.

"Fine!" Ginny spat, and turned on her heel.

"Ten points from Gryffindor! Do not speak to me in such a way. I am your teacher," Snape said smoothly.

Ginny returned to the hall, fuming. Ron and Harry were right, Snape never missed an opportunity to take points from Gryffindor.

She slid sulkily into her seat, still feeling worried about Harry and her brother. Ginny noticed a folded piece of parchment in front of her, and upon unfolding it, found that it was her schedule. She gave it a glance over and groaned.

"What?" Colin Creevey was sitting on Ginny's left.

"Just my schedule. I've got double potions with the Slytherins today."

Colin looked puzzled, "How have you got a different schedule from the rest of us?"

"Last year Snape told McGonagall that I've been working above my level in Potions, and I guess he's grudgingly allowed me to skip up this year."

"Oh. So will you be with Harry then?" Colin asked eagerly. Despite having been at school with Harry for several years, Colin was still rather in awe of him.

"Er...yeah, I think so," Ginny busied herself with the marmalade so that Colin wouldn't see her eye-rolling. She heard a snort and looked up to see Seamus Finnigan laughing into his oatmeal across the table.

"What?" Ginny asked curiously.

"He's laughing at Colin," Lavender Brown sniffed disapprovingly. She and Seamus had had an on again off again relationship since the end of the previous year. From the looks of things, it seemed to Ginny that they were on an off period at the moment.

Seamus ignored Lavender, and after grinning a Ginny, went back to eating his oatmeal.

Ginny grinned back and the grin stayed on her face until her gaze fell on the three empty chairs that were normally occupied by Ron, Harry, and Hermione, whereupon it slid off her face. She just hoped that Ron and Harry turned up for class.

Ginny rose from the table and tucked her schedule into her bag. Slinging it over her shoulder, she joined the throng of students leaving the Great Hall. She arrived at the Potions classroom on the late side of on time and slid into an empty seat at the back of the room.

"Oh no, I don't think so, Miss Weasley," Professor Snape's oily voice came from the front of the room, "I'd like you to join Mr. Malfoy up here at the front of the room."

Face burning, Ginny gathered her things together and sat down in the seat beside Malfoy. On her walk up to the front of the room, Ginny had been glad to see that both Harry and Ron were present, partnered with Vincent Crabbe and Blaise Zabini.

"If it isn't the littlest Weasel," Malfoy locked eyes with Ginny as she sat down and then paused in an exaggerated manner, "Oh, I mean, _Ginny_."

Ginny frowned, "Why don't we stick to last names, _Malfoy_? It's all I'll ever use with you."

A hurt look seemed to flit across Malfoy's face, but it was replaced so quickly by his normal look of cold indifference, that Ginny was sure that she had imagined it, "I'll call you what I want. Weasel," he hissed.

"Don't you call me--" Ginny began hotly but was interrupted by Professor Snape.

"Miss Weasley, I believe that I have already taken points from Gryffindor because of your behaviour, and if you do not stop arguing with Mr. Malfoy, I will not hesitate to take more."

Ginny bit her lip, anger burning inside her. Harry caught her eye and shot her a sympathetic look. Both he and Ron had been the receivers of Snape's unfair actions many times.

She spent the rest of the lesson hastily scribbling down the notes that Snape was writing on the board for a healing potion, and also keeping her distance from Malfoy who would run his hand up her thigh whenever he got the opportunity.

By the end of the class, Ginny was in a very bad mood, "Where were you two this morning?" she demanded of Ron and Harry when they caught up to her outside the dungeon.

"We ran into Lucy before we got to breakfast and she was really upset so we tried to talk to her," Harry explained.

"What do you mean, you 'tried' to talk to her?" Ginny crossed her arms.

"Well, she wouldn't tell us much about what was bothering her. It seemed sort of like she had a spell on her or something," Ron responded shortly. Ginny could tell her irritation was being telegraphed to him.

"A spell," again Ginny felt that strange flicker at the edge of her mind.

"Yes. She was sitting behind a statue on the second floor crying and when she saw us she jumped up and backed away saying, 'Don't come near me!' At first we thought she was scared of us, but then she told us that she thought that she might hurt us if we stuck around," Harry shook his head in a bewildered fashion, his green eyes pensive, "So we left after trying a bit more to get her to talk."

Ron nodded, "Dunno what happened to her...maybe whatever got Hermione tried to get Lucy too," there was a distinct catch in his voice.

"Something very strange happened last night," Ginny furrowed her brow thoughtfully, her initial irritation having left her, "I have a really strong feeling that I've forgotten something..."

"A memory charm, maybe," Harry mused, "I bet there are books in the library that could help us."

Bad tempers on all sides forgotten, Ginny and the two boys rushed off to the library, unaware of the cold eyes that watched them go.

A/N: All right, so there you have it. I hope you like it ok. This chapter's eight pages, so it's a bit longer than the others (but perhaps not as long as you'd like...?). Please keep the reviews coming. Thanks to those of you who have reviewed so far. Naturemagic, I'm glad you like it. Sorry for the disconnect that's bothered you...hopefully it's getting better as I go on. :-)


	9. Chapter Nine

A/N: I'm thinking about cutting out the drifting focus thing, or at least not switching back and forth between characters every chapter. So sometimes there might be two Ginny chapters and just one Harry chapter, or vice versa. Let me know what you think about that. Also, this is my last update until after my exams are done (which will be on the 21st). I probably won't be getting stuff up again until around Christmas(ish).

Chapter 9

Harry and Ron left the common room after having made sure that Ginny didn't want to come with them.

"What are we going to do?" Ron asked in a small voice.

"Get her back, of course!" Harry balled-up his fists fiercely, "If I find out--no, not if--_when_ I find out who did it, I'll kill them!"

"And I'll be right with you, mate."

Harry leaned against the stone wall, feeling the coolness of it through the back of his robe, thinking hard. Something about the whole occurrence struck him as odd. None of the girls were coming forward as witnesses.

"Ron," he said suddenly.

"Hm?" Ron's face was still wearing an expression of shock.

"Don't you find it a bit weird that an apparently strong curse was used in the girls' dormitory last night but that _no one_ remembers _anything_? I mean, it would have made noise and probably a flash of light too. Not to mention that whoever did it probably woke Hermione up before cursing her," Harry's eyes flashed.

"Yeah," said Ron, catching on, the color slowly returning to his face, "Yeah, that _is_ odd. Hermione must've put up some kind of struggle. Why didn't anyone wake up?"

"Maybe they _did_ wake up," Harry said slowly, and then in response to Ron's confused expression, added, "Maybe they woke up but had a memory charm done on them!"

"Can't have," Ron shook his head, "Ginny seemed normal. Remember that when I accidentally did it to Lockhart he forgot everything--"

"Yes, but it went wrong with Lockhart. The charms don't always have to be so strong," Harry interrupted impatiently.

By this time the two boys had made their way down to the second floor corridor and Ron was just opening his mouth to reply to Harry when the sound of frenzied sobbing met their ears.

Harry and Ron stopped walking and looked at one another, "What do you suppose that is?" Ron looked around wide-eyed.

"I think it's more of a question of who. C'mon," Harry started off down the hallway, trying to follow the sound. After a moment's pause, Ron hurried to catch up.

Together he and Harry traced the sound to coming from behind a statue of a hunchback. Carefully, Ron and Harry peered behind it.

"Lucy!" cried Harry in surprise.

Lucy looked up, her eyes red from crying and tears trailing down already wet cheeks. When she saw who it was she cowered away from them, "Don't come near me!"

"Why? What's wrong?" Ron started forward.

"No no!" she shrieked, "Just stay away!"

Harry held out his arm to stop Ron, "Let's do what she says," he turned his focus to Lucy, "Lucy, we won't come near you, but tell us what's wrong."

"I can't," she sobbed, "Oh I can't. It feels so awful," her voice rose, "Make it stop Harry, make it stop!" Lucy reached towards him and then seemed to think better of it, snatching her arms back.

Harry and Ron exchanged worried glances. They had no idea what they should do. Suddenly Lucy seemed to pull herself together, "Please," she said in a pleading voice, though Harry thought that there was something cold and harsh underneath it, "Please just go away. I don't want to hurt you."

And as he looked into her eyes, Harry saw something that scared him. Her eyes shifted between what he knew was Lucy, sad and frightened, and what seemed to be someone else looking out, cruel and cold, "Yeah, all right," Harry grabbed Ron's arm, "We'll see you later then, Lucy."

"What're you doing?" Ron asked as Harry pulled him away.

"She needed to be alone. We weren't helping things," Harry kept the expression in Lucy's eyes to himself. Maybe he had just imagined it. What could possibly have gotten to her that would make her two people? In his state of worry, he had completely forgotten Ealia.

Ron looked as though he wanted to protest, but to Harry's relief he just shrugged, "Maybe we should go down to the Great Hall. We still need to get our schedules."

"Right. All right then, let's go," with the sounds of Lucy's distress growing faint behind them, Harry and Ron made their way back to the staircase.

They reached the Great Hall as people were beginning to filter out to get to their classes. The two walked over to the Gryffindor table and picked up their schedules from in front of their places. Harry looked down the table and saw Ginny talking to Colin.

"Oh no," Ron sounded disgusted.

"What?" Harry turned back to his friend.

"We've got double potions with the Slytherins first thing today."

"You've got to be kidding!" Harry felt disappointment settle in his stomach. Snape was the last person that Harry felt like dealing with, but upon opening his schedule, he saw that Ron was right. There was no arguing with the black print on the parchment. Harry checked his watch, "Let's get going, we don't want to be late for Snape's first class."

Ron sighed and tucked his schedule away into his pocket, "Yeah."

When they entered Snape's dungeon classroom, Harry was pleased to see that they were annoying the first student to arrive. At least Snape couldn't shout at them about tardiness.

Harry and Ron had just set their bags down together at a table when Snape swept into the classroom, looking as usual, rather like an overgrown bat.

"Ah, Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley," he said softly, "It's nice to see you on time for once. I don't think I'll have you sitting together though," Snape's dark eyes scanned the room, "Potter, you can join Crabbe, and Weasley, why don't you go and join Mr. Zabini."

Harry and Ron scooped up their things and went to their new seats as directed, their eyes shooting daggers and Professor Snape. Harry slammed his bag onto his new table, making one of Crabbe's empty glass vials fall to the floor and smash.

Snape looked up from his desk, "Carelessness, Mr. Potter, " his eyes glittered maliciously, "ten points from Gryffindor. I expect you to treat supplies more carefully in the future."

Harry heard a mean snort of laughter and turned to see Draco Malfoy walking to a seat, "So very skilled of you, Potter," he said nastily.

"Keep your mouth shut, Malfoy," Harry shot back.

"Watch your manners. You don't want Professor Snape to hear you and to take more points from Gryffindor, do you?" Draco smirked, "But then again, you _do_ like to be the center of attention, don't you Potter?"

Harry would have responded, but he felt a sharp pinch on his shoulder, "Don't Harry," Neville, who was behind him, whispered.

Still furious, but temper under control, Harry took out his notebook and quill. Suddenly he heard a bang and looked up. A very angry-looking Ginny Weasley had just sat down next to Malfoy. Snape was lecturing her on her behaviour, threatening to dock more points from Gryffindor because of her. Apparently she had lost some earlier. Harry caught her eye and smiled sympathetically at her. He knew exactly how she felt. The slimy old git had put him in the same situation many times before.

Class had started in earnest now, but Harry was only half paying attention to the information that Snape was writing on the board. The events of the day were occupying his mind, and suddenly Harry remembered his dream. Ealia! _She_ was behind it all, Harry was sure of it. He would kill her. But how, he thought, could he kill something that wasn't alive in the first place? If Hermione had been around she would have known what to do. harry felt a tightening in his chest. He would simply have to track Ealia down himself. She was wandering around somewhere in the castle.

Thoughts such as these kept Harry busy for the duration of the lesson. When it ended, he realized that he had no idea of what Snape had actually covered, and according to the notice written on the board, the class was to be tested on making a healing potion at the next lesson. Harry grumbled to himself. He'd just have to get Ron's or Ginny's notes. If they had them.

He joined Ron as the students gathered their things and filed out of the dungeon, "I didn't get a bloody thing done in that lesson," he muttered.

"Me either, and he's testing us next class," Ron scowled, "Maybe Ginny took notes."

"Well she's right up there," Harry nodded towards the distinct copper-colored head in front of them. But before they managed to ask her, Ginny whirled around.

"Where were you two this morning?" she snapped.

Harry and Ron sighed. Ginny was clearly not in a good mood. The two boys looked at one another and launched into an explanation of the events of that morning.

"Dunno what happened to her...maybe whatever got Hermione got Lucy too," Ron finished.

Ginny's anger seemed to have drained away, "Something very strange happened last night. I have a really strong feeling that I've forgotten something..."

"A memory charm," Harry mused, remembering his thoughts from earlier. A sudden, idea struck him, "I bet there are books in the library that will help us."

"Yeah!" said Ron eagerly.

The three friends took off for the library, and upon reaching it, shoved open the doors to it.

"So where do we start?" Ginny asked, setting her bag down next to a chair.

"Memory charms. Look for books about memory charms," Harry had already started off for the shelves, his eyes scanning the dusty book bindings.

Twenty minutes later, when all three were seriously considering giving up, Ron gave a shout, "I've got one!"

He brought it over to a table and Harry and Ginny crowded around him, peering over his shoulders.

"'Despite the common belief that memory charms like 'Obliviate' are irreversible, there is a potion that can be made that will counteract most of the effects of the charm,'" Harry read aloud, "Listen to this, 'The Memorium Potion is on of the easiest potions to both gather ingredients for and to make.' That's excellent!" Harry said excitedly.

"Keep reading," Ginny was looking closely at the page, "'However, there is a layover period of one month during which the potion must mature. It must also be taken during a full moon so as to avoid adverse effects.'"

"Oh," Ron looked glum.

"So it takes a month--" Harry began.

"More than a month. We have to _make_ the potion, remember. The month is just for the maturing stage," interrupted Ginny.

"Ok. So it takes a little more than a month to make," Harry corrected himself, "I still think it's worth it. We want to know what happened that got erased from everyone's memories, don't we?"

"Yes. Definitely," said Ron determinedly.

"Hang on. _I'm_ the one who's got to take it," said Ginny, "Has it got any 'adverse effects' if the person taking it hasn't actually had a memory charm done on them?"

"But you _did_, Gin," Ron looked at her.

"I don't know that for sure, Ron. I only said that I felt like I'd forgotten something. I might not have really."

Harry was scanning the pages, "It doesn't say."

"Oh," there was silence for a moment.

"Well, I suppose I'm just going to have to chance it, aren't I?" Ginny spoke up finally, "If we want to know what happened to Hermione I've got to do it."

Ron seemed pleased, "Yeah, and I bet Madam Pomfrey could fix you up if something happened," he said encouragingly.

"Let's not that about that, all right?" Ginny said somewhat coldly.

"Oh. No. Sorry Gin."

"Well..." said Ginny.

"Well let's copy this stuff down, the ingredient list and procedure I mean. We can all get to work on getting everything we need together," Harry reached for his quill.

"All right," Ginny and Ron dove into their own bags for paper and quills.

"But listen, Ron," Ginny sat down at the table, craning her neck to read the book.

"Yeah?"

"Don't breathe a word about any of this to Mum. She'd have a fit."

Ron rolled his eyes, "Yeah I can hear the Howler now, 'How dare you jeopardize your sister's health and safety?! I expected more of you than that!' She'd blame it on me you know."

Harry grinned. Mrs. Weasley always seemed to like blaming the family problems on Ron if there were no way to rope the twins into it.

Ten minutes later, Harry, Ron and Ginny returned to the Gryffindor common room, stretching their fingers and hands which were suffering from cases of writer's cramp.

After dropping off their notes, Ginny turned to Harry and Ron, "We'd better get down to the Great Hall if we want any lunch. There's about thirty minutes before the second half of potions."

"Yeah, all right. I'm starving. Harry and I didn't get any breakfast," Ron perked up at the news of lunch.

Upon exiting the common room, they found themselves face to face with a much improved Lucy.

A/N: All right, so this chapter's not super long either; only a bit over six pages. Six and a half if you round it. My workload is ridiculous though, and frankly, I was surprised that I got through another chapter. Because I may not be updating very rapidly, you can do what I do with other stories which is to stay one chapter behind. That way there's always something to read. For instance, I don't read chapter five of something unless chapter six is up. So if the suspense is really and truly killing me, I can read the next chapter. The only thing is, you've got to wait until I get chapter ten up before you can start using that technique... Keep the reviews coming! :-)


	10. Chapter Ten

A/N: So here's the holiday update, even though it's not the holidays in the actual chapter...I also don't know how long this chapter will end up being. So if it's sort of short, I'm sorry. :-) Also, I realized that there is a little discontinuity with the last chapter (due to the meeting with Lucy, which I did not include in this chapter), so look for info about that in the next chapter from Harry's p.o.v.

Chapter 10

Ginny entered the potions classroom after a rushed lunch feeling very tired. She, Harry, and Ron had spent their 30 minutes of eating discussing the Memorium Potion and exactly how it was supposed to work; not to mention that Ginny felt as though she was just beginning to let the tension and stress from Hermione's attack go. The upshot of it all was that Ginny slid into her seat wishing very much that she could skive off the lesson and have a nap.

Things didn't improve any when Malfoy took the seat next to Ginny's and surreptitiously ran a hand down her arm, smirking slightly. Ginny jerked her arm away and glared at the blonde boy next to her, but couldn't help but notice the tingle that ran up her spine at his touch. Feeling disgusted with herself for feeling that way about _Malfoy_, Ginny turned her attention to Snape who was discussing the properties of various potions ingredients and showing the class samples of each.

"Now, there is one more ingredient that I want to show you, but unfortunately, Professor Dumbledore has deemed it too dangerous to be kept in my private stores," Snape sounded distinctly irritated by this, "Instead, he has Madam Pomfrey keep a _very_ careful watch over it," his eyes scanned the class and then fell on Ginny and Malfoy. Before Snape had said anything, Ginny felt sure that she knew what was coming, "Mr. Malfoy and Miss Weasley," Snape picked up his quill and scribbled something on a piece of parchment, "Please take this to Madam Pomfrey and bring what she gives you back to me."

Ginny rose from her seat, gloom settling into her stomach. If there was ever a time that Malfoy could corner her and get away with it, this was it. The teachers were occupied in their respective classes, and the same went for the other students. Malfoy seemed to be thinking along the same lines, because as he stood up, Ginny saw a slight smile twitching at the corners of his outh. He walked cockily to the front of the room--Ginny couldn't help but notice his all too apparent swagger--to get the note from Snape.

"What a wanker," she muttered under her breath and then shot a look across the room to where Harry and Ron were. Though they were at different tables, they wore distinctly similar looks of disgust and outrage, clearly upset that Ginny had to go _anywhere_ with Malfoy. In fact, their expression were so pronounced that Ginny couldn't help but grin.

She felt something brush by her, "C'mon Weasley," Malfoy's tell-tale drawl met her ears. Heaving a sigh, Ginny turned and followed him out of the classroom dungeon after having taken a firmer grip on her wand in her robe pocket. She promised herself that whatever happened, she would not be caught off her guard.

Once out in the hallway, Malfoy turned to lock down at her, his steel grey eyes boring into her brown ones, "Thought about my offer anymore, Ginny?"

"I thought I told you not to use my first name _Malfoy_, because that would imply friendship or some sort of closeness that we _don't_ have," Ginny spoke through gritted teeth.

"All right, Weasley then. Have you thought about it?" Malfoy sounded impatient.

"What offer? The one that would consist of you draggin me off and banging me in one of Filch's supply closets?" this of course was not exactly what Malfoy had said, but Ginny thought that it had an effective sound, "Because if that's what you're referring to, I think I already gave you my answer: no! I leave that sort of thing for the Pansy Parkinsons of the world to do," Ginny quickened her pace.

A pink tinge spread over Malfoy's face, "Shut up!"

Ginny looked back at him over her shoulder, "Oh, I'm sorry, is she your special slut? The one you keep going back too when you can't get anyone else?" In an instant Ginny knew she'd gone too far. In two steps Malfoy overtook her. SLAP! The force of his hand sent her reeling into the wall.

Trapping her against the stone, Malfoy leaned close to her, "Don't you EVER say something like that again Weasel...EVER!" his voice was low and threatening with not just a little menace in it. Ginny felt her heart jump in her throat. This boy was the son of a Death Eater in Voldemort's inner circle; he could probably have her killed if he wanted.

"All right. Sorry," Ginny said softle, rubbing the sore place on her face and trying not to let tears leak out. Malfoy's anger was frightening. Breathing heavily, he stepped away from her, allowing her to move away from the wall.

They continued down the corridor in silence for awhile. Ginny crossed her arms, wishing she could be in the Gryffindor common room with Harry and Ron instead of walking down a deserted hallway with someone she considered to be her archenemy.

She suddenly became aware that Malfoy had muttered something, "What?" she turned to look at him.

"I'm sorry for slapping you," he repeated, looking down.

Ginny was so shocked by Malfoy's digression from his normal self that she couldn't think of anything to say at first. Draco Malfoy, Slytherin Prince, apologize? "I...oh...well...it's ok. I shouldn't have said that stuff." Now Ginny was shocked with herself. Where were her snappy comebacks? Why was she accepting his apology? He couldn't possibly mean it.

"Yeah, you shouldn't have," Malfoy's cold facade had reemerged, "But I should have known you'd do it. You're a Gryffindor after all. It's just the sort of low-blowed shot you'd throw."

Now Ginny felt her temper return, "I beg your pardon?! _We_ throw low blows?! _We're _ not the ones who dressed like dementors in order to try to scare a member of your Quidditch team off his broom; _we _don't have anyone who calls for a wizards' duel with no intention of showing up and then alerts Filch about it in hopes of getting his opponent expelled; _we _don't--"

"You know what? Just shut it Weasley, you don't know half of what there is to know about Slytherins," Malfoy glared at her.

"I know more than I'd like to know, Malfoy! I know that you're all sneaky, underhanded, cruel, heartless people with strong predjudices and close ties to Voldemort!" It was the first time that Ginny had said the Dark Lord's name and she froze for a moment after saying it, but the effect it had on Malfoy was much greater. He jumped, all the color leaving his already pale face, and put a hand out to steady himself against the wall to steady himself. Ginny narrowed her eyes, "I know enough."

"You don't understand," Malfoy's voice was quiet once he had recovered himself, "You don't understand at all. Your predjudices are just as big as the ones you say we have. You just don't get that there could be some differences in some people do you?"

Ginny stared at the boy. She didn't understand the seemingly other side of him, "It'd be great to believe that you're different than the rest, Malfoy, but that's rather hard to do."

"Why?"

Ginny almost laughed aloud, "You can't possibly expect me to believe that you don't hate Harry and Ron, that all those awful things that you've done to people were just an act."

"Who said anything about not hating Potty and Weasel? I do hate them. I don't deny that. But I'm not like the other Slytherins, not like my father."

This all sounded completely outrageous coming from Malfoy and Ginny was beginning to wonder whether this was some sort of joke, "Right," Ginny couldn't keep the sarcastic edge out of her voice.

Malfoy looked at her for a moment as though he'd like to to say something in return, but instead only shrugged, "We're at the hospital wing. We'd better get the ingredient."

As soon as they'd entered it, Madam Pomfrey descended upon them, looking concerned and clearly thinking that one or both of them were injured. After reading the note, her expression turned grave.

"You two had better be careful with this. Don't lose any of it and make sure Professor Snape brings any extra he has leftover back to me," Madam Pomfrey handed Ginny a stoppered vial made out of some kind of frosted metal. It was heavier than she expected.

The walk back to Snape's dungeon classroom was completely silent, Malfoy seemed to feel that he had said too much to her, and for her part, Ginny was busy turning over their conversation in her head. She couldn't figure it out and was feeling decidedly confused by the time she and Malfoy reached the doors to the classroom.

"Well? Did you get it?" Snape snapped at them the moment they entered the room.

"Yes sir," Ginny walked to the front and handed Snape the vial and then returned to her seat. She couldn't miss the looks of relief on both Harry's and her brother's faces.

"Now, _this_ ingredient--" Snape began but was cut off by a sudden knock on the door, "Yes?" he barked.

The door swung open to reveal a terse looking Professor McGonagall, "I apologize for interrupting your class, Severus, but I need to see Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley right away."

Snape looked grumpy as he always did when his class was interrupted, "Fine," he turned to look at Harry and Ron who were making their way to the back of the room, "You two will have to get notes on this," he gestured to the vial, "because I _will_ be testing you on it."

Ginny watched as her two friends followed Professor McGonagall out of the room. She wondered what they had been called out of class for. She hoped that McGonagall hadn't somehow found out about the Memorium Potion they wanted to make.

"As I was saying," Snape continued, "This potion ingredient is one of the most dangerous of all ingredients and also is extremely rare. It's attributes are many. For instance, in certain potions it can grant the one who uses it invincibility--no spell, not even the Unforgivable Curses will be able to penetrate. But, if the potion in which this ingredient is present is in use and the one using it becomes possessed, it can have the effect of binding the two souls together, or worse, forcing out the original soul and allowing the new soul to take control. That is only one bad outcome, the others are, in some cases, far more gruesome, and I won't go into them."

Ginny scribbled frantically, trying to get everything down so that she'd be able to give a full report to Harry and Ron when she met up with them.

Draco jostled her elbow, "Planning on giving a detailed description to Potty so that he can break into Professor Snape's private stores again and steal it?"

"Didn't you listen to Madam Pomfrey?" Ginny hissed, "Snape has to return it when he's through with the demonstration."

"I must have missed that...I was too busy looking at you..." Draco's voice was low and Ginny felt his hand trail up her thigh.

She twisted away, "Don't do that!"

He laughed, "Sorry...you're just so irresitable."

Ginny felt her face heat up, "What the hell is with you today Malfoy? Just...leave me alone," she bent over her work, doing her best to ignore him and also trying to ignore the shivery feeling in her stomach. She shouldn't be feeling this way about Malfoy! The bell suddenly rang, and Ginny jumped up from her seat so fast her knee hit the edge of the table. She winced in pain.

"Be careful Weasley, we all want you around...especially Potty and Weasel," Malfoy laughed.

Ginny threw one last glare over her shoulder at Malfoy before scooping up her bag and exiting the classroom.

A/N: All right, so there you have it. At least it's not ending with a cliff-hanger like the last chapter. ;-) I hope you like it ok. I know it's a bit shorter, but hopefully you guys don't mind too much. I've been in Florida, so that delayed my updating. :- Can you EVER for give me?


	11. Chapter Eleven

A/N: I'm SO sorry guys. My only excuse for not updating is laziness. Well, ok, I've been busy but it's been what, almost 8 months? Absolutely ridiculous. I'm sure that any of you who actually still remember this story and think to check back on it from time to time had all but convinced yourselves that I'd abandoned it. Not so. I'm back. And just so you know, this is the Harry P.O.V.--kind of (hope you can keep it all straight--even I'm having problems...haha). It's picking up at their encounter with Lucy upon exiting the common room. By the way, HBP was a bit of a shocker, wasn't it? I've got some theories about that one...

Chapter 11

"Lucy!" Harry stepped to the side to avoid a head on collision with the blonde girl, "Hi, you're...er...all right?" he asked, noticing the lack of tears.

"Yeah," Lucy smiled, showing very straight, white teeth, "Yeah, I'm better. I don't know what was going on with me earlier," she brushed a stray hair out of her face, "I heard about Hermione though. Maybe I was in shock from that a bit," Lucy shrugged.

"That's great," Ron nodded his head emphatically, "Because I was rather worried, really."

Lucy smiled again and once again Harry was struck by a shifting behind her eyes. Something was not right, "All right, well i've got to go get my books. See you later," Lucy disappeared behind the Fat Lady.

Ginny squinted after her, "Well she seems to have made something of a fast recovery."

"Yeah," Harry ruffled his hair, "Yeah, she has. It's a bit odd. And there's something off about her. Her eyes aren't right."

"What are you talking about, mate? She looked normal to me," Ron had something of a silly smile on his face. The kind he was apt to get whenever he was near an attractive girl.

"No. Well, I mean, she did. Unless you actually looked into her eyes. There was something inhuman in them."

Ginny, who'd be looking thoughtfully at Harry, spoke up, "Harry's got a point. I mean, I didn't see her eyes really, but she didn't seem to be acting normally. She seemed kind of," Ginny searched for the word, "stiff. I dunno. Normally she's so easy going and just now she seemed different."

Ron stared at his sister, "I dunno Gin. She didn't seem that weird to me."

"Not to be rude, Ron, but I wouldn't say that you are exactly good at picking up on girls' characters. You pay attention to...er...other things," Ginny laughed.

Ron flushed slightly and muttered, "Yeah, well, I just don't overanalyze things that way you do."

"Right Ron. I know when to stop pushing," Ginny shook her head, "C'mon, we'd better get going unless we want to be late for potions."

The three set off at a fairly quick pace down the stairs to Snapes dungeon and upon entering went to their own seats.

Harry, who sat behind Ron poked him in the head with his quill, "We'd better get started on that potion tonight. The sooner we get to the bottom of this the better."

"Yeah, all right. You've still got your cloak?"

"Yes. In my trunk."

"Ok, then we'll go to Myrtle's bathroom and--" but whatever Ron was about to say was lost; he'd just seen Malfoy run his hand down Ginny's arm in what seemed to be a suggestive manner, "_He's touching my sister!_"

"What?"

"Malfoy! He just ran his hand down Ginny's arm. I'll kill him. I'll curse him into oblivion!"

Harry had to grab Ron's arm to keep him from leaping out of his seat, "Ron, Ron, calm down. Ginny is perfectly capable of handling herself. Her Bat Bogey Hex is nearly lethal. We've both seen what it looks like when she gets somebody with one."

Ron was breathing heavily and muttering murderously under his breath, which only intensified when Professor Snape sent the two of them out of the room to Madam Pomfrey to get some sort of ingredient.

"He'll corner her," hissed Ron, "How could Snape do that...evil."

"Ron, it's ok. We're in a school. There are teachers about," Harry tried to reassure his friend, although he himself was feeling slightly worried about Malfoy and Ginny as well. Malfoy certainly wasn't above trying to take advantage of any girl who caught his fancy and he certainly had enough knowledge about the school to steer himself and Ginny off the beaten track.

Apparently Ron was of the same mind, as he only shook his head at Harry's reassurances, "Doesn't matter. He's a Malfoy. They're all sneaky, slimey--"

"Weasley? Is there a problem?" Professor Snape materialized next to Ron and Crabbe's table.

"No, Professor," Ron said grumpily.

"Good. I think you and Potter should get back to work now. I think Gryffindor is already losing enough points as it is," Snape's lip curled into a sneer.

"Sir," Harry bent his head back down to concentrate on slicing up his boomslang skin, his insides churning with annoyance as they always did whenever Snape told him off. The Slytherins were all talking, but you didn't see _them_ getting threatened.

Professor Snape looked stonily at the two boys for another moment and then swept across the dungeon to assist Goyle who had succeeded in melting a hole in the bottom of his cauldron. Harry stifled a snort.

The dungeon door banged open and Ginny and Malfoy entered. Ron heaved an audible sigh of relief, causing Blaise Zabini, who was next to him to send him a condescending glance. Harry too felt relief go through him at seeing Ginny looking quite all right, albeit slightly irritated.

The rest of the class passed uneventfully, though Harry noticed Ron paying more attention to Ginny and Malfoy in the front of the room than to the lesson. Snape also said some very interesting things about a potion that might come in handy--Harry could see Ginny scribbling furiously in her notebook.

Finally, the bell rang for break. Harry and Ron scrambled to get their stuff put away--they wanted as much time in the library as they possibly could get as it was necessary to look-up several of the supposedly "easy to find" ingredients for the Memorium Potion.

There was a sudden flash of red as Ginny flew by them.

"Woah, woah, Ginny," Harry said and hurried out after her, Ron following along in his wake after sending a glare across the room at the back of a blonde head.

Harry caught up with the girl and put a hand on her shoulder to slow her down, "Don't even try to touch me!" Ginny yelled, "I've had enough," she whirled around, fists clenched.

"Ginny!" Ron looked at his sister in surprise.

"Oh. It's you lot. Sorry. I thought...Malfoy...well, yeah...sorry," the anger drained out of her, but her face stayed flushed.

"Malfoy," Ron said darkly, his fists balling unconsciously, "That little... He was bothering you in potions today, wasn't he, Gin?"

"Erm...well, yes," Ginny felt that dangerous feeling welling-up inside of her again. It wasn't right to feel that way about Draco Malfoy, "Yes," she said more emphatically, "he was."

"I thought so. I'll teach him what happens when he touches my sister!"

"Ron! Don't be silly," Ginny scolded her brother.

"Wait'll Fred and George hear about this one, they'll let the git have it," struck by another thought, Ron looked back at his younger sister, "Don't do anything stupid, will ya Gin? Mum will kill me if something happens to you."

"Ronald Weasley," Ginny bristled, and for a moment looked very much like her mother, "Don't you dare start ordering me around and treating me like some little baby."

"It's my job to look out for you! You're my little sister!" Ron's ears were turning red.

"I'm your little sister but I'm also fifteen years old, Ron, and I'd thank you not to order me about!"

"I'm not ordering you about! I'm protecting you!"

"From WHAT exactly? I haven't been doing anything," Ginny shouted, or anyone, she added in her mind.

Ron was turning redder by the moment and Harry felt that this had gone on long enough, "Hey. You two are nearly worse than when you and Hermione are at it," Harry nodded at Ron, "Besides, I thought we wanted to go to the library and get started on the...stuff."

"Ooo. 'Stuff' Potter? You're making 'stuff?" Malfoy's drawl came from behind them.

"Speaking of 'stuff,' Malfoy, why don't you stuff it?" Ginny spoke with barely contained anger, "And while you're at it, why don't you take a step back from us, turn around, and go back to your little snake hole in the dungeons."

"What hole, Weasley? My snake doesn't have a hole to go to, but I guess you could give it one," Malfoy stepped towards her.

"WHY YOU LITTLE...MY SISTER...TALKING LIKE THAT...YOU...!" Ron exploded out from next to Harry making a dive at Malfoy and catching him around the throat.

There was a sudden bang and Ron flew backwards into Harry, who fell down. Malfoy, straightened-up, pushing his blonde hair out of his face and lowering his wand. Then he smirked at Ginny, "Pathetic, aren't they?"

"Shut it!" Ginny followed her brother's actions and launched herself at the boy standing in front of her. This, unfortunately did not have the desired effect, as Malfoy was much bigger than she and only stepped back to catch the weight that came flying at him.

"Let me go!" Ginny yelled, twisting to try to free her hands. Ron and Harry were still in a tangle on the floor and the hall was empty except for the four of them as everyone else had dispersed.

Malfoy leaned in close and hissed in her ear, "No!"

Just then a flash of something light-colored flicked at the end of the hallway, startling Malfoy into loosening his grip just enough for Ginny to twist free.

"Wha...?" Malfoy stepped back, looking at the thing moving towards them, then he regained his composure and pulled out his wand, "What the bloody hell are _you_ doing here!" forgetting completely about Ginny and Harry and Ron who were pulling them selves off the floor looking somewhat unbalanced, Malfoy rushed down the hall towards the white thing.

Ginny squinted, then gasped. Harry's spirit! "Harry! Harry look," Ginny gestured wildly.

"What? Oh! It's her," Harry looked back at Ginny and Ron who was rubbing his stomach and wincing, "Quick. We gotta get out of her."

"But how...? Malfoy knows it?" Ginny shook her head in confusion.

"I don't know. Now let's go!"

And without another look backwards the three raced for the stairs, unidentifiable noises reaching their ears from the hallway.

"I just hope Malfoy's getting it good," Ron said fervently.

A/N: Ok, so I made this chapter longish to make up for the lack of chapters. I hope you guys like it ok. And PLEASE review. I'll love you forever.


	12. Chapter Twelve

A/N: Ok, I'll admit, Chapter 11 was slightly pointless--I know. I kept getting distracted while I was writing it, so I never managed to reveal anything _really_ good--although Malfoy's connection to everything is starting to be revealed.

Chapter 12

The three students burst through the library doors, panting with exertion.

"What the bloody hell was going on back there?" Ron gasped, bending over. Running up three flights of steep stairs top speed had been draining.

"I have no idea, but whatever's going on, Malfoy is tied up in it. He's given himself away, calling to it like that." Harry pushed his glasses up.

Ginny, holding her thick, flame-colored hair off of her neck, looked at the two boys thoughtfully, "I guess you've noticed this, Harry, but Ron, I dunno if you saw it."

"What?" came two voices.

"That...erm...spirit thing looked exactly like Lucy."

"_WHAT?_ Are you mad?" Ron looked at Ginny with wide-eyes.

"No. I'm not. But she looks just like Lucy," Ginny glanced at Harry for support.

Harry nodded his head, "She does. That's why I seemed paranoid at the start of school. I kept thinking I saw Ealia, but it was really Lucy. I think. Although Ealia seems to be here too..."

"Ealia?" Ron looked confused.

"The spirit who visited me over the summer," then seeing that Ron looked even more confused than before, Harry sighed, "I forgot. I told Ginny about this, but not you. This summer I got woken-up repeatedly by something--or someone--but I never saw whatever it was. Then I was lying on my bed and all of a sudden there she was," Harry grinned slightly at the memory, "I won't say she wasn't attractive...but I didn't have any idea who she was, so I made her leave. She tried to kiss me."

"WOW," Ron's eyes were lit-up, "I wish some spirit like that would come visit me in _my _room and try to snog me..."

"Mum would catch you," Ginny said simply, "She wouldn't be too happy. Especially after our family's experience with spirits," Ginny was referring to her brush with Tom Riddle's diary.

"Aw, c'mon Gin, did you have to ruin my daydream?"

"Sorry, Ronnikins," she shrugged, "So are we actually going to get some research done or are we just going to hang about here talking?'

"Yeah, yeah we ought to get some stuff done," nodded Harry, "Let's ask Madam Pince about that one ingredient. She might know where we could find out about it."

"But if it's something illegal she'll get suspiscious," Ron argued.

"Well we won't know until we ask, will we? Besides, I doubt it's illegal. The instructions said everything was easy to find," Ginny stated matter of factly, "Madam Pince!" she called to the rather severe looking librarian who was just sweeping by them.

The woman squinted down at her, "Miss Weasley?"

"Yes. Er...my friends and I were wondering whether you had any book on," Ginny consulted her piece of paper, "Harackidermis?"

To their surprise, Madam Pince made no objections, "Why certainly we do. Right over here in the potions section," she led them to one of the tall bookshelves that made-up the library and started flipping through the books that stood on the shelves, "Ah, here we are. Right here," she handed a heavy book to Ginny and pointed at a page with her finger.

"Thank you very much," Ginny smiled at the librarian and then carried the book over to a nearby table and read the passage that Madam Pince had just gestured to and her smile grew wider, "Well it's not illegal."

"Excellent!" Ron clapped his hands together.

"What is it then?" Harry came up beside her.

"Boomslang Skin."

"What! You're serious?"

"Yeah. Says so right here: 'Harackidermis is known in today's circles as Boomslang Skin. Its name is derived from the creatures' ancient magical name and is often used in potions when the writer did not want those who were uninformed in potion-making to make the potion.' It goes on, but that's really all that applies," Ginny said.

"We were just using Boomslang Skin in Potions today!" Ron said excitedly, "Ginny, we'll have your memory back in no time!"

"Yeah, thanks Ron. At what cost to me, exactly?" Ginny rolled her eyes sarcastically.

"You'll be fine Ginny, we'll do everything really carefully and take our time," Harry tried to pat her arm in a reassuring manner, secretly thinking that the sooner they got the potion done, the faster the situation would be remedied, and now that Malfoy was involved...

"Yeah, and now Malfoy's in the middle of this," Ron voiced Harry's thoughts exactly, "Although I suppose we should really be too surprised considering that he always seems to be at the root of problems here," Ron grumbled.

"Well that's not entirely true. He didn't have anything to do with the Triwizard Tournament--" Ginny trailed off, realizing what she was doing.

"Well no, he didn't. But he certainly tried to make my life hell during it," Harry looked at her confusedly.

Ron was looking at her like she was some foreign creature, "Ginny, are you defending _Malfoy?_"

"No! No no no. I just--well nevermind," Ginny hurriedly replied, feeling flustered.

Ron narrowed his eyes, "It sure sounded like it."

"I wasn't, ok? Can we _please_ stop wasting time?"

"She's got a point, Ron," Harry grinned.

"I wasn't wasting time. She's my sister. I have a right to ask her stuff," mumbled Ron, but he let the subject dropped and proved to be an active participant in planning what would have to be done to get the potion finished.

The next bell rang, shrill and loud, startling all three from their hushed conversation.

"Oh! Well I guess we'd better get going then," Ginny began to shovel papers into her bag and Harry and Ron followed suit, "We're not in the same class next, so I won't see you until dinner probably."

"Yeah. Right. Ok, well keep thinking about things. I know you said that something about Ealia reminded you of something..." Harry nodded, thinking that it would be extremely useful if Ginny could remember the forgotten.

"Yeah, yeah, you're right. I'll think," Ginny swung her bag over her shoulder and left the library.

Ron stared hard after his sister, "I'm worried, Harry. I think Malfoy's getting to her."

"Nah, he's not. I don't think he could get to anyone in Gryffindor, at least, not in the way you're hinting at. Especially not Ginny, she's too smart."

"But why would she defend him then?"

"I don't think she was, really."

"She was," Ron stated positively, "She's my sister. I know how she is, and she was defending him."

"Is this like the time you were sure that she and Seamus were going out because you thought you saw her sending 'furtive' glances at him across the common room?" Harry grinned, remembering how bent out of shape Ron had been for weeks during the last term, convinced that his sister was sneaking about with Seamus.

"Ok, well that was a mistake," Ron flushed, "But I'm sure about this."

"All right, mate," Harry shook his head, "We'd better get to class."

"Dunno, Hagrid might have some new sort of dangerous creature..."

"Yeah, like gigantic spiders." Harry snorted, thinking about Ron's intense fear of arachnids.

Ron paled slightly, "Don't say that. I've had enough of Hagrid's spiders."

"I'm sure it'll be fine. C'mon. We'll be late."

Harry and Ron left the library, never for a moment suspecting that they were being watched by a lone figure behind a book shelf.

"So," it whispered, a smile turning up the corners of its mouth, "Things are about to get interesting." It waited until it was sure no one was about, then it too left the library, following the same path as Harry and Ron.

A/N: This one was only 4 pages. Sorry guys. I'm trying to do a bunch of updating, so the chapters are a little shorter than before. Maybe one day I'll save up a bunch of entries and then make a ten page chapter, but until that point, they're a bit short. Besides, no one is REVIEWING anyway. Maybe no one reads this story. That makes me rather sad.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

A/N: YAY! TWO new reviews. I just logged on and saw them and they made me very happy. I'm so glad that so far everyone seems to be liking the story, and as long as that continues, I intend to keep writing. Although, I must say, there may be lots of time between chapters sometimes. I tend to get easily sidetracked…what can I say? Anyway, on with the story! PS, sorry for all the typos. I'm going to try to proof this one.

Chapter 13

Ginny didn't see Harry and Ron again until that evening after dinner when she entered the common room and saw the two of them in their favorite armchairs huddled in discussion. She walked over to them, and upon finding herself unobserved cleared her throat rather loudly, enjoying the site of the two boys jumping in surprise, her brother tumbling forward out of his seat.

"Who…oh, Ginny, it's you," Ron looked at his sister after having reclaimed his armchair.

"Gave you a bit of a fright, did I?" Ginny laughed, her brown eyes sparkling and she perched herself on the arm of her brother's chair, "Should teach you not to discuss top secret plans in a common room."

Harry looked somewhat abashed, "Yeah I know. Anyone could overhear, really, but Ron and I thought we ought to get everything solidified before we tried sneaking out of the dormitory tonight."

"What do you mean…?" Ginny narrowed her eyes slightly, "Were you planning on leaving me behind? Because it certainly sounds that way…leaving me out of the planning."

"I…er…well, erm, you see Gin," Ron seemed to be scrambling to come up with some sort of explanation.

"Hmm?" Ginny stared stonily at her brother. She certainly was not about to let him off this time. He always tried to play both sides—the protective older brother and then the older brother who didn't want her around. Sometimes she let him leave her out, but as she was the one who was going to have to drink this potion, she wasn't going anywhere now.

"Well," Ron threw a nervous glance at Harry, "Harry and I thought that, well, it might be easier if just he and I went tonight, because, well, er, we thought that three might be too many under the cloak."

"Didn't seem to bother you too much when it was Hermione under there with you, did it?" Ginny snapped at him.

Ron blushed and Harry looked uncomfortable, "But Ginny, it's just that it'll be difficult, and you don't really--" Harry stopped.

Ginny finished his thought for him, "I don't have experience? Right. Well, fine, I won't go. But I'd like to see what kind of potion you end-up making considering that I have the ingredients list and the instructions in my bag in the girls' dormitory, and whatever it is you make, I won't be drinking any of it," Ginny said hotly and turned. In her head she was counting: 1…2…3…

"Ok!" Ron was right on cue, thought Ginny, smiling to herself.

"Ok what?" she turned around again.

"Ok you can come with us. But you have to be careful."

"That's rather like the pot calling the kettle black, isn't it? I'm not the one with habit of acting entirely on emotion the way you are and doing something stupid because of it."

"All right, all right," Ron looked irritated, "You're coming with us, aren't you? Stop being so prickly."

"Yeah. All right. What time are we meeting down here?"

"I was thinking around one-thirty. Everyone should be in their dormitories by then. Ron and I can use the invisibility cloak to sneak down, but you'll just have to be really careful," Harry looked at her.

"I understand," Ginny sighed, "I promise I'm not the elephant that you both seem to think I am." both boys cracked a smile at that, "But I'm going to turn in now, get some sleep before getting-up again," she grinned at them suddenly, "And you can't leave without me because I've got everything you'd need to make the potion."

Harry groaned, "All right, Gin, you've got us. We'll be waiting for you."

"Good," she smiled and left the common room. The girls' dorm was empty, so Ginny found it easy to get to sleep. When she next awoke, it was very dark and the room was filled with the soft sounds of breathing. Looking at the large clock that hung above the doorway, she saw that it was nearly one-thirty and swung her legs out of bed.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," she grumbled to herself as she pulled off her pajamas and put on her clothes, "Harry and Ron are barking, and I must be too since I'm going along with this."

Having tugged her shirt into place, Ginny made for the exit, only to remember that she had forgotten the supply list and the instructions. She hurriedly grabbed them out of her bag, stuffed them into her pocket and left the dormitory. Luckily, the common room was deserted except for a an anxious-looking Harry and a peeved-looking older brother named Ron. Ginny sighed, she knew she'd get an earful from Ron about being a couple minutes late.

"Listen Ginny, what were you doing up there for so long? Harry and I might've gotten caught," Ron hissed at her.

Ginny couldn't hold back a blatant eye-roll, "Honestly Ron. I had to dig out the ingredient list and the instructions. I don't think you'd rather that I forgot them and then remembered halfway to Snape's dungeon that I didn't have them. Besides, no one would've caught you. You've got the invisibility cloak. If you heard anyone coming you'd just put it on."

"So you've got everything then?" Harry smiled at her, his green eyes sparkling behind his glasses.

"Yes," Ginny said firmly, smiling back. Harry always got so alive looking when he was about to go off and break school rules. Suddenly Ginny found herself wondering whether Malfoy had the same kind of passionate spark that Harry had. She wondered what he looked like when he was passionate about something--or someone. Ginny mentally slapped herself. No! What was she thinking? Malfoy was forever and always off limits. Besides, she hated him, right?

Harry was saying something, Ginny forced her mind to turn its attention towards him, "All right then. Squeeze under the cloak with us. You'd better stay in-between Ron and me since you're so much shorter."

"Yeah, right, thanks, Harry," Ginny mock-glared up at him.

"Hey, it isn't my fault you're that way," Harry held out his hands in a don't-blame-me sort of manner, "Besides, it means that you're good to have around when there's sneaking to be done. People don't notice you."

"Quick save, Potter, quick save," Ginny laughed and then hurriedly ducked under the cloak as she caught Ron's somewhat bothered look.

The three passed undetected from the Gryffindor common room, ignoring the sudden squawk of the Fat Lady ("Who's there?"), and began to navigate through the now silent and darkened halls towards Snape's dungeon. It was necessary to get a few ingredients that they didn't have in their private stores.

"You know, he's going to have a right fit when he sees that more stuff's disappeared," said Ron after they'd been walking in silence for awhile, "Didn't he suspect that you were behind earlier disappearances, Harry?"

"Yeah. He did. Threatened to make me drink some Veritaserum and make me tell. Mind you, I didn't mind the bit about him asking whether I'd stolen ingredients, since I hadn't, but I was quite worried about spilling other secrets," Harry replied.

"Like you and Cho," giggled Ginny.

"What?" Harry was taken aback, "What do you mean?"

"Under the mistletoe..."

"How'd you hear about that!"

"You forget, dear Harry, that I'm friends with Hermione. She, er, mentioned to me that you and Cho had something of an encounter."

"I won't tell her anything else. That's just not--_what_ Ron?" Harry turned his attention to Ron who'd been making frantic hand gestures.

"Wh-what is _that_?" Ron nodded down towards the end of the hall, looking horrified.

"What are you on about?" Ginny strained her eyes, "there's nothing--OH! Harry, is it _her?_" Ginny looked urgently at the boy next to her and was shocked to find him shaking in silent laughter, "What are you laughing about?"

"It's _Peeves_," Harry fought to keep his voice steady, "He's just lying on his back in the air waiting to catch any sneaking students unawares. It means we'll have to go a different way, but seriously you two..."

"Oh shut up. You never know, it _could_ have been her," Ginny retorted.

"Ickle students afraid of a wee poltergeist," Harry grinned imitating Fred's voice.

Ginny rolled her eyes, and as she did so she thought that it seemed to be becoming a bit of a habit with her lately. Silence overtook them again and they continued on their way to the dungeon.

"SHH," Ron had suddenly stopped dead, causing Ginny to make a grab at the cloak to keep it from sliding off. She wondered what was getting to him this time. They were already on the corridor that the Potions classroom opened onto.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Listen."

All three strained their ears for any hint of noise. And there it was, the noise they dreaded to hear, Filches shuffling gait and wheezy breathing.

"Oh damn it," Ginny grumped, "What do we do now then?"

"Get to Snape's classroom fast," said Harry, "We can't just stop here, the hallway's too narrow."

So increasing their pace and trying not to breath too loudly, the three scrambled into the darkened and deserted chamber, carefully shutting the door behind them.

"Huh. I thought we were going to be caught for sure," Ron said after his initial fright had worn off, "And I don't fancy doing any sort of detention that McGonagall would hand out for being out of bed and wandering around the castle after hours.

Ginny nodded her head in agreement, "No."

"Well it's ok. You've got the list, Ginny?"

"Yeah, it's right here," she felt around in her pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment. After checking to make sure it was the right one, she handed it to Harry.

Some time later, pockets bulging, Harry, Ron, and Ginny stood in a cluster in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. To the intense relief of all three, Myrtle was nowhere to be found.

"So," said Harry.

"So we did it," Ginny grinned. A bubble of triumph filled her belly. Maybe when this was all done she'd remember what had really happened that night in the dormitory.

"Yeah!" Ron pumped a fist in the air, a silly smile crossing his face, "We'll be able to get Ginny remembering and Hermione fixed-up in no time."

Ginny looked knowingly at her brother, "Ah, I'm sure you'll be _extra_ pleased when Hermione's all better."

Ron blushed and then immediately busied himself with setting out all of the ingredients, meanwhile, Harry, brow furrowed, was looking over the instructions for the potion.

"The book wasn't joking. The Memorium Potion is not going to be difficult to make."

"Oh good!"

"But after it's been all mixed together, it's got to be stirred one-time counterclockwise every twenty minutes for three hours," Harry frowned, "So either we all can stay or one of us can stay behind to do it..."

"I'll stay," Ginny spoke-up immediately, "I don't mind."

"Are you sure?" Harry looked closely at her, and in spite of herself, Ginny felt a blush creep up her neck at having those penetrating eyes turned on her.

"Yes. Positive. Besides, you _did_ say that I was sneaky," she laughed.

"All right then. You can stay. Ron and I will get it all mixed together and then we'll leave you to keep an eye on it."

Ginny thought that Ron looked as though he were about to object, but then he seemed to change his mind and simply shrugged and nodded his head, "Ok."

After Ginny lit a fire in the bowl of one of the toilets (a spell learned from Hermione), Harry and Ron heaved a rather large cauldron onto it.

Ginny's eyes went wide, "Goodness, how much of it are you making? More importantly, how much am I expected to drink?"

Ron grinned sheepishly, looking a bit embarrassed, "It was the only one I could find. We couldn't use one of our own because Snape would wonder where it had got to during classes."

Ginny laughed, "That's a good point, that is."

An hour later Ginny waved off Harry and Ron, reassuring them that she would be absolutely fine on her own watching the potion, and watched as they disappeared under Harry's cloak. Running a hand through her long hair, Ginny turned back to focus on the potion bubbling merrily on top of the toilet. One stir counterclockwise every twenty minutes. Every three hours. She sighed. It was going to be a long night. Even Myrtle would be welcome company and distraction from keeping track of the time and sweating over a vast cauldron that was emitting a somewhat unpleasant smell.

Finally, as the clock inched it's way towards five in the morning, Ginny stretched and put down the spoon she'd been using to mix the potion which had taken on a shimmery white color. According to the now spattered instruction sheet that she was squinting at, the potion had to simmer over heat for the next two weeks before being removed from the fire and left to sit for another two weeks until it reached maturity. Ginny carefully wrote down the date on the piece of paper so that they wouldn't forget to go back and get the potion at the right time. Stifling a yawn, Ginny took one more look around the bathroom before exiting.

Strolling slowly down the empty corridors gave her a feeling of freedom. Despite the fact that she was breaking school protocol, Ginny felt extremely light and unworried. At least, until she heard the sound of muffled crying coming from a little ways down the hall.

Peering ahead into the darkness, Ginny wondered who else was out of bed at this time. Following the sound, Ginny found herself outside of an unused classroom. Whoever was crying was in it. She stood indecisively for a moment, wondering whether she should go in an see whether the person was ok, or just continue on her way back to the Fat Lady's portrait. Finally she made her decision. Pushing open the door, Ginny crept into the room. A hunched form sat on top of one of the desks, its shoulders moving up and down slightly.

"Are...are you all right?" Ginny whispered.

The form straightened-up immediately and jumped off the desk, whirling around as it did so.

_Malfoy_. There was no mistaking what the light from the hall showed, reflecting off the blonde head as it did. Ginny heard a sudden intake of breath and then realized that it had been her own.

"What is it, Weasley?" the boy sneered, his fists clenched in his pockets. How dare this little weasel surprise him. She was not ever supposed to see the cracks in his exterior, although he'd come close to showing them to her earlier.

"I...nothing. I heard crying. I thought I'd see whether whoever it was was all right," Ginny crossed her arms, unsure of what Malfoy might do.

"Well I'm fine. You can leave."

"You're not fine," Ginny wasn't sure what it was, but after seeing him like this, some of her anger towards him drained away. She also wasn't so scared of him anymore.

"What would _you_ know about it, Weasel?" Malfoy snapped, running a hand through his hair, causing it to flop back down over one cool grey eye.

"I have a big family, Malfoy, I know when people are not ok."

"Right," he snorted, "I don't need anybody's sympathy, especially not the sympathy of a muggle and mudblood lover like yourself."

Ginny felt a hot swoop of anger go through her, "I'm not giving you sympathy. I hate you, remember?" but even as she said it, Ginny wondered again whether it was true, "I'm only stating a fact."

"If you're not giving me sympathy, Weasel, then why are you still here?" Malfoy glared at her.

"If you don't like me in here, then why don't _you_ leave?" Ginny snapped back.

"Because _I_ was here first. Now leave."

"No. What's your problem anyway? Why are you always so angry. You're never happy."

Malfoy fixed her with a cold stare, "What are you talking about, Weasley? You don't know anything about me. Keep your mouth shut."

"Why were you crying?" Ginny didn't know what kept pushing her to press him, but something did.

"I'm not going to tell you anything. You're a disgrace to the wizarding world. Your whole family's dirt," Malfoy threw at her.

"Don't you DARE start back in on my family. At least mine's loving, at least I don't have an abusive death eater father!" Ginny shouted. The last bit was just a rumor, but she suspected that it was true.

Malfoy went white and advanced towards her, "Get OUT, Weasel. I don't want to talk to you." Malfoy couldn't figure out why he was even talking to her as much as he was. Was it possible that he regarded the littlest Weasley differently? Definitely not. He shook the thought out of his head. She was nothing. Nothing.

"FINE. You're a waste of my time anyway," Ginny stormed at him, red hair standing out around her. She glared at him and then rushed from the room.

Tangled emotions flooded her on the way back to the common room. She hated him. HATED him. But then why was he such a fascination to her? It was wrong. Absolutely wrong. What was wrong with her? Well, she wouldn't spend more time thinking about him. He was just a waste of space.

Ginny was still angry as she tumbled into bed for the second time that night, and it was anger that didn't improve when she remembered that she'd be seeing him again in Potions the next day. But as she fell asleep, Ginny couldn't help but remember how lost and alone Malfoy had sounded, so utterly alone. And a small chink appeared in her hatred for the Slytherin.

A/N: Well this chapter is much longer (twice as long, in fact)--to make up for the ridiculously short thing called chapter 12. I hope you people like this one. And just so you know. I don't really have a canon for this story. It just kind of happens. I started it before the 7th book came out, so I'm not necessarily using things from it. Maybe it's sort of an alternate Harry Potter reality...haha.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

A/N: And here I am again. My gosh, Draco-and-Ginerva-4-ever, how fast do you want me to be updating? Two chapters a day or something! ;o) But I'm glad you're liking it and that you keep me aware that I have to keep writing it. This chapter is more Harry than Ginny, just so you guys know. But don't worry, Ginny and Draco will be back.

Chapter 14

"Do you suppose that Ginny will be all right back there?" Ron and Harry were making their way back to the Gryffindor dormitories.

"Ron, I'm positive that she'll be fine," Harry looked at his friend, "Why are you so worried about her this term anyway?"

"Dunno," Ron shrugged, "She's my little sister, so I'm a bit protective of her."

"A _bit?_ I think that might be an understatement..." Harry laughed.

"Oh all right. A lot. I just...I dunno. Something's not right."

"Ron, she's fifteen. You've got to give her her space," Harry wasn't sure what was getting to Ron so much. He'd always kept a careful eye on his younger sister, but this was getting ridiculous.

"Ok ok," Ron perked up again, "Did you know that Bill and Fleur are still together? She's always at the house."

"Is she?" Harry grinned in spite of himself, at the thought of Fleur Delacour.

"Yeah. Driving Mum absolutely mad. She can't stand her. Thinks Fleur's going to usurp her or something. Mum doesn't like her around us," but by the look on Ron's face, Harry thought it looked as though Ron didn't particularly mind have the part veela girl around.

"She wasn't there when I was there."

"No. She had to be at Gringotts with Bill. She talks about you a lot though, mate. ''Arry ees such a wonderful person, 'E saved my sister,' and on like that," Ron did a fair imitation of the young woman's french accent and both boys laughed, "According to her, Gabriella fancies you."

Harry raised an eyebrow, "Her sister?" Harry remembered the small girl he'd brought up with him from the bottom of the lake.

"Yeah, it's really rather funny especially when--" here Ron stopped talking.

"What?" Harry looked about him, hand tightening on his wand. They'd made it this far without being caught, and if they got caught now, Harry knew that they'd really be in trouble, "it's not Peeves again, is it?"

Ron shook his head, "No. Definitely not Peeves."

"I don't see anything; what're you looking at?"

"Right down there," Ron pointed, his voice coming out in a squeak, "There's something white moving around."

And just as he said that, Harry saw what Ron was talking about. There was a white, shapeless blob bobbing down at the end of the corridor. Rather like the cobwebby thing Harry had woken up to over the summer.

"Shh. If we're quiet it won't notice us. I don't think it'll be able to see through the--"

"Harry," a breeze with his name on it circled the two boys crouching under the cloak.

The two boys looked at eachother, Ron's eyes were widened in fright and Harry's jaw was set in determination.

The blob glided toward them, and then, when it reached them it began to change. It began to have a shape, a head, arms, and a torso, but even when the transformation was complete the figure was surrounded in a haze of bluish-white light.

"Ealia," Harry felt anger rush through him and memories come back. She had threatened to put an end to Hermione's search for what she was. Unless he was very much mistaken, Ealia was at the root of whatever had happened that night in the girls' dormitory.

"Darling Harry," her voice was low and seductive, "Why don't you take off that cloak and come out and play," her lips curled up in a smile.

"Harry..." Ron squeaked.

"It's all right Ron," and with that Harry yanked off the cloak, holding his wand out and ponting it at the spirit before him.

"There you go," Ealia's voice flowed over him, caressing him, "No need to be angry," she had accurately picked-up on his emotion.

"Of course there's a need to be angry! You're following me around all over the place, you cursed Hermione, probably possessed Lucy, and--" another thought struck Harry, "What were you doing with Draco Malfoy?"

Ealia's laugh was like the tinkling of bells, but it made the hair on the back of Harry's neck stand-up, "That certainly doesn't concern you," she glided closer to him, reaching out a hand and running it through the boy's dark hair.

Fighting the feeling to give in to her, Harry jumped back, "Oh but it does concern me, and Ron too."

Ron, who was standing behind Harry and clearly trying to look as insignificant as possible, gulped and nodded.

Ealia glanced at him, her eyes become icy, "We don't need your little friend, Harry, just you and me."

"I'm not going anywhere," Ron snapped, "He's my friend. I'm not just going to abandon him."

"I think you will go away...NOW," Ealia waved her hand and Ron suddenly gave another squeak of fear.

"Harry...Harry...spiders..." Ron was backing away, watching something that Harry couldn't see.

"Ron, there's nothing there, nothing. She's just trying to frighten you."

"No, Harry, they're there," Suddenly Ron fled down the hallway, leaving Harry alone, miffed and his mind racing. How had Ealia known about Ron's fear? How much _did_ she know?

"There. Much better. Now we're all alone, Potter. All alone," Ealia came toward him again and Harry hurriedly backed away.

"I think you ought to stop coming near me," Harry said.

"But why?' she gave her laugh again, "I have a task to fulfill, dear boy. The sooner it's done the sooner I get my reward," Ealia's blue eyes flashed with sudden desire, "And I want my reward."

"What's your task then?" Harry had taken a better grip on his wand, prepared to use it if it became necessary.

"Oh I can't tell you that. But I can tell you that the fact that you wander about in the deserted halls in the middle of the night makes it so much easier. SO much easier," that sly smile returned to her face and in spite of himself, Harry felt a jump in his stomach. This creature was dangerous. Harry knew it. And then, while Harry was still mulling that over Ealia's hand slithered down his chest. He jumped back--into the wall.

A sudden fear gripped Harry's chest as Ealia moved even closer. She was evil. Harry knew it just as he knew that she couldn't be allowed to get any closer to him than she already was or--he'd rather not think about it. His fast reflex skills gained in Quidditch gave him an advantage. As the girl's face came towards his, Harry dodged sideways, landing on the floor. Scrambling to his feet, he snatched up the cloak, throwing it over himself and raced down the hall. It was not like him to run, and he knew it, but he wasn't prepared to face that--that--whatever she was. Just as he reached the entrance to the common room. A ghostly, tinkling laugh reached his ears. Without a backwards glance, Harry climbed in through the portrait hole, slamming the portrait behind him.

"HARRY!" Ron appeared around the corner, "What happened? Are you all right?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," Harry rubbed his temples, trying to get the image of Ealia out of his head.

"I would've stayed...but the spiders..." Ron shuddered visibly.

"Yeah. I don't know how she knew that you hate them. And I still don't know what she and Malfoy were doing. He's tangled-up in this somehow. I really think he is."

"And Ginny had better stay away from him," glowered Ron.

Ignoring his friend, Harry plowed on, "I think we're going to have to do something more drastic than simply making that Memorium Potion if we're actually ever going to get anywhere with this," plus, Harry added to himself, he didn't like the way the creature had seemed to mark him down as a target. Perhaps she was connected to Voldemort in some way? It would make sense...kind of.

"Things would be so much better if we had Hermione back," Ron sank down into his favorite chair, "She already had an idea about what that...thing was, remember?"

Harry nodded, Hermione had known. Only this time she hadn't left behind any piece of paper with the answer scribbled on it. Suddenly he sat up straight, or had she? Hermione hadn't been attacked until that night. However, she'd been in the library nearly all day. Surely she would have discovered _something_.

Ron noticed the change in Harry, "What?"

A smile creeping back over Harry's features, Harry told Ron what he thought, "So if she found the answer, it's probably somewhere in her stuff."

"Which is in the girl's dorm," Ron frowned thoughtfully.

"Right. Which means we somehow have to get at it, but boys can't get up there."

"Ginny! Ginny can get Hermione's stuff and bring it down here and we can all go through it."

"Excellent idea. When she gets back," Harry looked at his watch which read quarter to three, "Or, rather, tomorrow morning, we'll ask her about it. I'm too tired to wait up another two hours for her."

"Yeah. I think I'll turn in too," Ron stifled a yawn, "We've got McGonagall and Snape tomorrow and I don't fancy trying to sit through those classes half asleep."

"Especially when Hermione's not around to copy notes from," Harry added and both boys sobered, each hoping fervently that their friend would be ok.

"OH! Oh no...oh please. Please, someone!" a frantic cry brought both Harry and Ron to their feet, looking wildly about them.

The door to the girls' dormitory flew open and a half-crazed looking Lucy came flying down the stairs at them.

"It came back. Oh Harry, Ron. What do I do? She's always around me. Always. And so cold. Oh she's cold. And she hurts me." tears pooled in Lucy's wide eyes.

"Hang on. What's going on?" Harry took Lucy's cool hand in his own and led her to a chair, "Sit down." Lucy sat and looked at the two boys.

"You're going to think that I'm evil, horrible," Lucy sniffled.

"No. We wouldn't think that," Harry shook his head, and Ron shook his in agreement, though he didn't seem to want to get too close.

"It's the spirit that McGonagall warned us about, The one that's been loose in the halls. She--she looks like me and I guess that's why she won't leave me alone."

"Harry's her target," Ron said slowly, "She probably thinks she'll have an easier time getting to Harry if she can stay in you."

Harry nodded, "That's probably true. If she knows that Ron's scared of spiders she's got to know that you and I are friends."

Lucy wiped her eyes, "I feel so silly, but I'm afraid. I don't know what to do. I love Hogwarts, but I've never had to go through anything like this before."

"Nor have we," said Ron grumpily, as though he felt that Lucy was attacking Hogwarts.

"No, no of course not," she added hurriedly.

"Go to McGonagall. You've got to tell someone about this," Harry said urgently, "You can't keep trying to fight it off on your own, Lucy."

"I know. It's just...I.." Lucy's shoulders sank.

"What?" Harry asked.

"It's...don't worry about it. I'll go to McGonagall tomorrow," the girl stood-up and smiled wanly at the two boys, "Thank you for being here. I think I'll go back up now; I don't think she'll be up there anymore. I hope," Lucy left them and went back into the dorm. As there were no shouts, Harry assumed that everything was all right.

"That was weird. Did you get the feeling that she was hiding something?" Harry looked at Ron.

"Yeah I did. That whole bit where something else was clearly keeping her from wanting to talk to McGonagall but she wouldn't say what it was," Ron was struck by a sudden idea, "Harry, you don't suppose she _remembers_ anything from the night Hermione got attacked, do you?"

"I don't know," Harry turned the idea around in his head, "It's possible. We should try to talk to her tomorrow--along with Ginny--but now I'm really going to turn-in."

"Yeah, me too."

Harry and Ron made their way into the darkened dormitory, listening to the snores of their housemates. Ron fell asleep immediately, but Harry stayed awake for a long time, thinking. It was past four-thirty when sleep finally claimed him. And so it was that when Ginny returned, she had no idea that new revelations had been made about the intricate weave of events.

A/N: So there you have it, Chapter 14, in its entirety. I'm sure that Chapter 15 will be quick to follow--if I can get it up tomorrow. I leave Tuesday to look at colleges and I won't be able to update until I get back--maybe I should leave you with a cliff-hanger to drive you crazy... ;o) And if you've yet to review...do it. I'll love you forever and ever.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

A/N: And onward we march into the depths of Chapter 15. Say hello to the return of Ginny. And thank you for your continuing reviews. :-D Oh, by the way, it was called to my attention that I wrote about starting this story before reading book 7. I'm sure most of you have figured this out already, but I meant to say book 6. :-P

Chapter 15

Ginny entered the Great Hall the next morning with a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. The events of the previous night seemed dreamlike, surreal. Had she really nearly had an actual conversation with Malfoy? Or had it all been a story her mind had told her in the depths of sleep? It _had_ been real, Ginny knew it had, but she couldn't help but wonder whether it would have been easier if it had all been imagined.

"Ginny!" Ron hailed her from his seat at the Gryffinfor table and gestured to an empty seat between Harry and him. When Ginny got closer, he added, "Harry and I have to talk to you about something."

"Oh?" Ginny asked curiously as she slid into her seat noticing with something akin to relief as she did so that she would have her back to the Slytherin table.

"Yeah," Harry passed her a plate of toast, "Ron and I thought of something last night that might be really helpful," and he and Ron went on to tell her their thoughts about Hermione and how Ginny would have to get her stuff.

Swallowing the piece of bread that was in her mouth, Ginny looked thoughtful, "I can do that, I think. And you're probably right. Hermione's one for notes, so if she _did_ find something, she's probably written it down somewhere."

Ron nodded eagerly, "Yeah, that's what we thought too. It's just a matter of digging it out of her piles of notes on other subjects," he grimaced.

In spite of the situation, both Ginny and Harry laughed at this, "You should be pleased, Ron, you're forever griping about her constant note taking, and now it's stopped," Ginny said.

"But now I haven't got anybody to copy notes from in class. I actually have to pay attention."

"Oh, now there's a kicker. You've got to do your own work for a change," Ginny said sarcastically, folding her napkin next to her plate, "And now I've got to be going. I have to finish up those questions for Snape. I'll see you two in class."

"But we haven't told you everything," Harry put in quickly, leaning forward.

Ginny felt a spark of interest. Whatever the two had found would probably be paramount to saving Hermione, "Well I'd really like to hear it all, but I've got to get my homework done. Tell me during break."

"All right," Harry sat back in his seat, "That'll work too."

Ginny smiled, "Good." As she left the Hall, she fought the urge to look in Malfoy's direction, and when she finally gave in and peeked at him out of the corner of her eye, he wasn't even remotely looking in her direction. Instead he was turned around, facing the Ravenclaw table. No doubt saying something mean, Ginny thought. Ignoring the feeling that felt strangely similar to disappointment that lay in her stomach, Ginny hurried back to the dormitories to get her books and finish her work. She didn't see Draco Malfoy again until Potions forty-five minutes later when she had to reclaim her seat next to him.

This was not as awkward as Ginny had feared that it would be, due to the fact that she had caught the blonde Slytherin picking on a first year Hufflepuff in the hallway who was carrying a pile of books, his bag having split moments ago (due to, Ginny suspected, a _diffindo_ spell cast by Malfoy). When she came across them outside the Potions classroom, the little boy seemed close to tears and just as close to dropping all of his supplies.

Ginny had been infuriated, her redhead's temper rising to the surface, "What the hell are you doing, Malfoy?"

He had turned and looked at her with cold, unfeeling, and unrevealing eyes, certainly not eyes that betrayed any of what had happened the previous evening, "Shut it, Weasel. I don't talk to those below me."

"Well I'm talking to you!" she had shouted, "And you leave him alone."

Malfoy had laughed meanly, "Make me," and with that he shoved the little boy--hard--causing him to stumble and fall over, his ink bottle smashing, and his rolls of parchment rolling all over the stone floor of the passageway. With a last smirk at Ginny, Malfoy had stepped over the boy and gone into the potions classroom.

Ginny had been too angry to speak, so she had just stood still for a moment, shaking in fury. Finally she noticed that the little Hufflepuff was still on the ground trying to collect all of his things, "Here, let me help you," and even though they weren't allowed to do magic in the corridors between classes, Ginny figured that this was worth it, and with a flick of her wand she stacked the boy's supplies, though she couldn't clean up the spattered ink.

"Thank you," the boy had whispered to her before rushing off to join his friends who stood a little ways down the hallway looking frightened.

After that incident, Ginny decided that she wouldn't speak to Malfoy, no matter what. So it was coolly and silently that she slid into the chair next to his, without even looking once in his direction

"Sticking-up for the useless, Weasley? I imagine you're fairly good at it by this time," Malfoy sneered at her as she pulled out her parchment and quill.

Ginny simply ignored him, clamping down on the anger that threatened to boil over, and calmly writing her name at the top of a piece of parchment. Malfoy wasn't worth the effort it would take to argue with him.

Snape swept into the room, "Today we'll be making the Draught of Dreamless Sleep. Because this is a difficult potion and," his dark eyes scanned the room and his lips turned up into an unpleasant smile, "because so many of you such _disappointments_ at potion-making, you will be working in pairs. Your partner will be your table-mate."

Ginny wasn't happy. And by the looks of Malfoy, who had his arms tightly crossed and his jaw set, he wasn't happy either. With a sigh, and still ignoring the grumpy-looking blonde boy beside her, Ginny set to work preparing the ingredients for the potion. From his behavior, Ginny assumed that Malfoy wasn't about to help her.

Tipping her carefully chopped Sneezewort into the cauldron that stood between her and Malfoy, Ginny made the mistake of looking-up. Malfoy's icy grey eyes were on her and she felt her stomach flip unpleasantly. She expected him to say something, but he didn't. He looked at her for a moment longer, an expression of haughty disdain on his face, before looking away again. But right before his gaze had left her, Ginny thought she had seen another sort of expression in his eyes; surely, though, she must have been imagining it.

At the end of the period, the potion was finished and not a word had passed between the two students. For her part, Ginny was exhausted. She had made the entire potion herself, with no help at all from Malfoy. Snape had very intentionally turned a blind-eye to the situation at their table whenever he passed by. Luckily, Ginny was quick at potion-making and had succeeded in completing this one successfully. Malfoy had remained in stony silence the entire lesson, not once even troubling to insult her after his initial comment at the beginning of the class, no, instead he treated Ginny as though she didn't exist. And when she whispered to him at the end of the period, he acted as though he hadn't heard her.

"You are despicable. Absolutely despicable," she hissed at him after he had stood smiling self-righteously next to Ginny's potion as Snape congratulated him on its correctness. Snape had not even acknowledged Ginny's work in the matter other than giving her a short, curt nod. Malfoy, on the other hand, was being positively fawned over, and Ginny couldn't take it.

But Malfoy simply picked up his things and literally swaggered out of the dungeon, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle, without having even glanced at Ginny or retorting. Ginny was, in all honesty, stunned. Malfoy's behavior toward her had undergone radical alteration. Ginny tried to tell herself that she was pleased at the change--she was no longer being insulted or pestered-- but she wasn't. Not really anyway. She mulled over the reasons that could be behind this sudden shift. It couldn't possibly be her sticking-up for the small boy before class...the crying. It must be the fact that she had walked in on him crying the previous night. Ginny knew that Malfoy's pride was incredibly important to him, and by seeing him cry she had seen what he thought was weakness. Ginny figured that because of that, her connection to the boy had altered slightly. Perhaps Malfoy knew that and couldn't take it.

Ginny sighed, "It doesn't matter anyway. It's not as though anything would have happened. I didn't _want_ anything to happen."

"What're you on about Ginny?" Dean Thomas was standing behind her, grinning, "You're not going mad, are you?" he put on a mock-afraid expression.

"Definitely not, Dean. Definitely not. I was only thinking aloud. My brain works better that way," Ginny laughed.

Dean smiled again, "Well listen. It's a Hogsmeade weekend this weekend and I wondered whether you'd like to go with me?"

Ginny was taken aback for a moment, was Dean asking her to be his date or just to go along as a friend? But she guessed she knew the answer to that, "I...oh, well, sure. It'll be fun."

Dean looked pleased, "Excellent. Well I'll meet you in the entrance hall then and we can walk together."

"Ok. That sounds good."

"I'll see you around then, Ginny. I've got to go, Seamus is waiting for me," and with a last grin, Dean hurried out of the dungeon.

"What'd Dean want?" Ron approached with Harry.

"Oh. Er...he asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him this weekend," Ginny blushed, feeling rather silly and hoping that Ron wouldn't go ballistic the way he had last term when he'd learned that she was going out with Michael Corner.

"But we've got to work on a plan," Ron looked disgruntled.

"Oh honestly, Ron, we'll have plenty of time for a plan. Dean and I are just going to hang out, nothing's going to happen."

Ron opened his mouth to reply but Harry cut in, "Speaking of plans, Ginny, Ron and I've got to tell you about what else happened last night. Let's go to the library."

Sometime later, Ginny looked between the boys, "So she's definitely malicious then?"

"So it would seem. And she's got it out for me," Harry rumpled his hair.

"But we haven't got a clue what exactly she wants. All she seems to do is come on to Harry," Ron stifled a snort.

"That's one of the first steps to control and possession though," Ginny said. She'd done a lot of reading up on the subject after her own brush with possession to make sure it didn't happen to her again, "One of the best ways to gain control of someone is to...er...have some sort of contact with them."

Harry looked at her wide-eyed and Ron let out a low whistle, "So that's what it is then, mate. She's out to control you."

"That's what seems logical to me, anyway," Ginny added.

"But then why does she keep trying to possess Lucy?" Harry asked, turning a quill over in his hands.

"Because," Ginny explained, "Ealia thinks that if she can get into Lucy she'll have a better shot at getting to you. She knows you trust Lucy and probably rightfully thinks that you'd be much more likely to make-out with Lucy than with her. I'm sure it wasn't part of her plan that Lucy would come running to you to tell you what was going on."

"Yeah, that does make sense," Harry said slowly, "Well I've got to make sure I don't do any impromptu snogging then, haven't I?"

Ginny laughed, "Yeah, that sounds about right."

Ron chuckled, "Sorry mate."

Harry feigned severe disappointment, "No snogging! Whatever will I do?" and all three burst out laughing, earning a warning glance from Madam Pince.

Just then the bell rang, signaling the end of break, and the three students struggled to their feet, "Urgh," Ginny groaned, "I've got Binns next, _and_ I didn't get nearly enough sleep last night. It'll be even worse than usual," she winked.

"Well _we've_ got McGonagall," Ron said, "She'll give us detention if we pass out in her class. At least Binns never notices."

"McGonagall's interesting," said Ginny, picking up her bag.

Ron looked shocked, "_Interesting?_ What did you do with my sister?"

"I--" Ginny began, but was interrupted.

"Ginny?" came the dreamy voice of Luna who was standing at the library's entrance, "Are you coming? We'll be late, and I think Professor Binns is going to talk about Hoggletails."

Ginny suppressed a laugh, "I'm coming Luna. I'll see you two later," she waved at Ron and Harry.

A/N: So there you are. I was nice and didn't leave you with a cliffy to mull over while I'm gone. I'm off for about a week, but I promise I'll be brainstorming ideas for the next chapters and I'll be right back to writing when I get home again. And please review. I know it's rather hypocritical of me to be saying that as sometimes I'm too lazy to review the stories that I read, but do try. :o)


	16. Chapter Sixteen

A/N: I'm back! And absolutely exhausted. I think I've narrowed down my top choice colleges though, so I'm pleased about that. I also had the presence of mind to write most of this chapter on the road so you people can get it right away! However, that also means that I wrote it before getting those two lovely new reviews. First off, Katie, now that you've brought it up, you're right, I haven't talked much about Lucy and I definitely need to. Look for a chapter at some point about her. Also, I've been toying with the idea of putting in some of Draco's perspective, now that I know someone is in support of it, perhaps I shall! He and Ginny will most certainly get together, don't worry...I'm just building irritating tension. And their relationship brings me to my next point, Chelsea: I see where you are coming from, thus far both categorizing this story as romance and giving it an "M" rating seem a bit off. However, romance is certainly going to blossom (if the characters let me manipulate them that way... :o) ), and the "M" is for what will probably happen in later chapters... Anyway, I'm glad you're both enjoying the story. Keep reading!

Chapter 16

"Ginny, I think you should get Hermione's bag now," Harry pulled Ginny aside as she came through the portrait hole after dinner, feeling relieved that Ginny had been among the first to finish her meal, "Most people haven't finished eating yet, so no one will really notice if you grab her stuff."

"Er...yeah, ok," Ginny looked at Harry briefly and he wondered what she was acting to jumpy about.

"Is everything all right, Gin?" he glanced at her concernedly.

"I..what? Oh. Yeah. Yeah everything's fine," she smiled brightly, "I'll get Hermione's stuff and bring it down."

"Just meet me and Ron in the library, ok?"

"Ok," Ginny jogged up the stairs to the girls' dorm and disappeared behind the door.

Harry stood for a moment, staring after her. Was Ron right about something being "not right" with her? Harry didn't know how much more of girls' weirdness he could take. He was already having to deal with Lucy who had essentially attached herself to him during his last class, apparently under the belief that he'd be able to protect her, then there was Romilda Vane and her posse that giggled every time Harry came near them. And now Ginny was seeming kind of odd. Harry shook his head, he hoped nothing was seriously wrong, and left the common room to meet Ron in the library.

"Harry! Hiya Harry!" turning around, Harry saw Colin Creevey running towards him and found himself wondering whether the boy ever grew--he looked as small as ever.

Forcing a smile onto his face Harry returned Colin's greeting, "Hi Colin. I'm in a bit of a hurry, actually. I can't really talk."

"Oh," the boy's small shoulders slumped, "Well I heard something really strange last night and I just wondered if you knew anything--"

"I doubt it. I'm really kind of busy," Harry shifted from one foot to the other.

"I know, it's just that they were talking about you and one of them was crying and--"

Harry's interest peaked, but unfortunately Colin was called away by a group of friends, "Hey, Creevey, come on. We're going to play exploding snap."

"Oh! Yeah. All right," Colin grinned at Harry, "See you around Harry!" and he took off after his friends.

Harry was left feeling decidedly disgruntled. That'll teach me to listen to Colin the next time he comes around, Harry thought to himself ruefully.

He continued on his way to the library deep in thought and nearly ran into someone coming his direction, "Oh, sorry," he murmured.

"Harry! I'm so glad I found you," Lucy's voice cut through Harry's thoughts.

"Oh. Er...hi Lucy," his mind was racing trying to find some way to shake the girl off temporarily. Seeing as how she was the person that Ealia was directly trying to possess, Harry couldn't help but feel that she shouldn't be around when he, Ron, and Ginny went through Hermione's things.

"Where are you going?" Lucy asked conversationally, falling into step beside him.

"The library. Erm...listen, this isn't really the best time to talk. Ron and I have to get some stuff done." He purposefully left out Ginny, remembering how Cho had felt when he had told her that he was going to meet Hermione after their date in Hogsmeade.

"Oh," Lucy's smile slid off of her face, "Oh, well ok. I understand."

Harry felt awful, seeing her look so let down,"I'm really sorry. We can talk later though, okay?"

"Yeah," Lucy nodded, her blonde hair swinging, "It's...that's fine. I'll see you later then." She walked off alone in the opposite direction and soon disappeared around a corner.

As Harry was still thinking about Lucy, he felt a hand touch his shoulder. Irritation flooded through him, couldn't he make it to the library without continuously being disturbed? "Can't people stop bothering me!" he snapped, whipping around.

"Sorry!" Ginny withdrew her hand quickly, "I didn't realize..."

"Oh, hi Ginny. Sorry. I didn't realize it was you. It's just that I kept getting delayed on my way to the library," Harry felt himself grow red, feeling decidedly embarrassed.

"It's fine," Ginny patted the bag she was carrying, "Look, I've got Hermione's stuff."

"Excellent! Ron'll be really pleased when we meet up with him. He was worried that you'd have problems getting it."

Ginny frowned, "He's worrying too much this year."

"I know. I don't know what's wrong with him. I was hoping you'd know," Harry looked at the redhead inquisitively.

"No," Ginny shook her head, "Well, maybe...Mum is putting a lot of pressure on him. Saying that all his other brothers have made something good for themselves and that he should work hard if he wants to do as well."

"So she's not annoyed about Fred and George anymore, then?" Harry chuckled.

"No, not at all. Says that they might be the best of the lot. She boasts about them all the time," Ginny grinned, "She's very conveniently forgotten that she ever accused them of bringing shame to the family."

It sounded just like Mrs. Weasley to Harry, "So Ron might be extra worried about his future then?"

"Yeah, could be. That's all that I can think of anyway. Also, Mum expects him to look out for me. She gave him quite an earful back when I got possessed by You-Know-Who," Ginny swallowed, "Voldemort. Seemed to think he should have noticed that his wee sister was being manipulated. So I think he's keeping a closer watch then ever on me. The whole Michael Corner thing was a complete fiasco," Ginny laughed.

"I remember that. He kept shooting me glances like he expected me to jump in, knock Corner out, and step into his place with you."

"_There_ you are," the two looked up to see Ron's head poking out from the library's double-doors, "I was wondering where you'd got to."

Harry and Ginny hurried into the room after Ron and joined him at the table he'd staked out, "We've got it!" Ginny triumphantly placed Hermione's bag on the table before them all.

Ron looked at it, "Let's just hope we can actually _find_ what we want to find."

"Be optimistic, Ron," Harry said as he began pulling things out from the bulging bag, "Here, we'll divided it up so we each go through a smaller bunch of stuff," and he divvied up Hermione's things.

Harry set to work carefully examining all of the notes in Hermione's neat handwriting for any sign of information about Ealia. He found nothing for the first ten minutes and then Ron's voice roused him from his concentration.

"She's still writing to _him?_" Ron had a look of outrage on his face as he held up a long roll of parchment.

"Who?" Ginny looked at him with a carefully formed expression of ignorance, though Harry was pretty sure that she knew exactly what Ron was talking about.

"KRUM! She's still writing to that...that... I thought she stopped!" Ron was glaring at the piece of parchment in his hands.

"Oh Ron, they're friends. Of course they still write," Ginny looked bored.

"But she...he...they..I thought."

"Ron, stop worrying about it. You know Hermione fancies you," Harry said, feeling like they were getting off track.

Ron turned red and mumbled something.

"What?" Ginny looked at her brother.

"Er...nothing. Well, I mean we don't _know_ whether she really...well..." Ron turned even redder.

Ginny smiled knowingly, "She does, but you both fight too much to ever actually figure it out."

"Erm," Harry tried to get them refocused, "Have either of you found anything that will help us out?"

"Oh!" Ginny seemed to suddenly remember what they were supposed to be doing, "No. Not yet."

"Me either," Ron straightened-up, pleased that his relationship with Hermione was no longer being discussed.

"I guess we ought to keep looking then," Harry sighed, staring at the small mountain of papers before him, "We've got a lot to get through."

An hour later Harry leaned back in his chair, head aching, and still none of them had found anything. Then Harry noticed something. A small scrap of parchment was peeking out from between the pages of a massive book. He made a grab for the book and flipped it open and the parchment fluttered out.

In Hermione's neat hand he read: "_Osembleraniat_--A dwindling kind of shape-shifter that has nearly all of the properties and abilities of a spirit. In its unshaped form, the Osembleraniat may appear to be nothing more than a faint cloud of fog."

"Hey!" Harry said loudly, "I think I've got it." He passed the parchment to Ginny, and Ron read over her shoulder.

"I think you've found it, mate," Ron looked pleased.

A grin spread across Ginny's face, "I _knew_ what you described to me sounded familiar. I read about Osembleraniats when I was reading about possessions," the grin faded, "But Harry, they're really dangerous."

"Well _that_ doesn't surprise me," but nonetheless Harry felt the sinking sensation of disappointment land in the pit of his stomach, "At least we know what she is now though, right?"

"Yeah, yeah definitely," Ron noded, then paused, 'Wait, does that mean she's not really a she then?"

"Yeah it does," Ginny spoke up, "Osembleraniats don't have a specified sex. They can take on the characteristics of either."

Ron laughed, "You've got an asexual...thing...trying to shag you, Harry."

Harry chucked a wad of parchment at him, "I didn't _ask_ for it. She...it just appeared in my room--" Realization struck him suddenly and he spoke slowly, "Dudley said he saw a girl climbing through my window one night. You don't suppose that the Osembleraniat thing already knew about Lucy and was already using her, do you?"

All three looked thoughtful for a moment, "I don't reckon it can have," Ron said at last, "Lucy was in Wales, right?"

"Right, but Osembleraniats have the power of apparation and whoever they're in has it as well," Harry tapped the book, "it says so right her."

"Then I suppose it could have known about Lucy, then," Ginny acknowledged, "Which makes me think that this whole thing was planned long in advance by someone who knew that Lucy would be coming to Hogwarts this year."

Harry felt a spark of admiration for the girl sitting across from him.

"You're turning into another Hermione," Ron said, voicing Ron's exact thought.

Ginny snorted, "No Ron. I'm simply using my head. You could do it too."

"Couldn't," Ron argued, "Some people've got more brains than others."

"And I suppose I'm one of them?"

"Yeah. Mum'll be pleased. She's always wanted a brain in the family. Percy doesn't count--he just does what he's told."

Harry laughed, "What've Fred and George got, then?"

"Oh, well, I suppose they've got them too," Ron conceded, "Different sort though."

"But anyway, about the Osembleraniat, how do you--"

"Shh," Harry said, hushing Ginny. He'd just spotted Draco Malfoy flanked by the usual duo enter the library. But Harry was surprised when he saw Draco, who was headed towards their table with a sneer plastered across his chiseled features, swerve off when his eyes slid across Harry and Ron to rest on Ginny.

"Ginny," Ron looked at his sister suspiciously, "What's going on?"

"I--what?" Ginny smiled innocently, too innocently, Harry thought. Her clear brown eyes looked to him like they were hiding something.

Ron glared at her, "You and Malfoy. What's going on?"

"Ron, don't be ridiculous. You're talking about _Malfoy_ here," Ginny crossed her arms.

"If something's _not_ going on, then why did he avoid the table as soon as he saw you sitting here?"

Ginny shifted in her seat and Harry realized that whatever was going on, she wasn't about to talk, "Ron, just drop it."

"Honestly, Ron. Stop being so paranoid all of the time," Ginny yanked her hair back into a messy ponytail.

"Well, er...maybe we should head back to the common room now. Someone needs to check on the potion tonight anyway so whoever it is might want to get some sleep," Harry stood up and started gathering things together, wanting to prevent another blow-up between the brother and sister, who in his opinion were as bad as when Ron was with Hermione.

"Yeah," Ron shoved his chair back roughly, "I don't want to stay in here with _him_ around, anyway," he jerked his head in Malfoy's direction but quickly shifted his gaze back to Ginny who was looking carefully blank.

"Sure, let's go," Ginny picked up Hermione's bag, "And I'll be the one to go check on the potion."

"Are you sure? I mean, you were just up last night," Harry raised his eyebrows. He knew that Ginny was a big fan of her sleep. It was unusual that she would volunteer for staying up really late two nights in a row when she had to wake up early in the morning.

"Yeah, I'm positive," Ginny smoothed back a stray hair, "It's me who's got to take the potion, so I ought to take most of the responsibility," she shrugged then grinned impishly, "Besides, I'll trust it more if I'm the one who takes care of it most of the time."

It sounded believable enough, but Harry had knwon Ginny long enough to know when there was something she wasn't saying. However, he didn't think that it was worth confronting her about with Ron nearby, "Well all right. As long as you're sure..."

"I am," Ginny said firmly.

Ron looked closely at his younger sister, but didn't press the matter and just shrugged before tipping his share of papers back in Hermione's bag.

Ron hurried ahead of Harry and Ginny after saying something about wanting to practice Quidditch before getting started on his essay for Charms.

Harry looked around and then lowered his voice, "Ginny, is everything all right?"

"Oh Harry, I don't know. I just don't know," to Harry's ears, Ginny sounded a trifle panicky.

"Anything you want to talk about?"

"No. I can't. Not to you," Harry felt rather hurt at that, after all, he and Ginny were friends, but Ginny, seeing this, quickly added, "I trust you more than almost anyone else I know, Harry, but I can't talk about it," they were at the portrait hole, "I'm going to go take a nap since I'll be up late tonight. See you later Harry." Ginny disappeared up the stairs to the girl's dormitory after taking her leave from Harry in the common room.

Harry sighed and flopped down in an armchair, rubbing his head. This was all getting to be too much...and he had an essay to write. Withough any help from Hermione.

A/N: For the love of everything Harry Potter, REVIEW...otherwise, Draco and Ginny may never get together...muahaha. See? You have pushed me to the low-levels of blackmail.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

A/N: Ok, so here I am again, updating as fast as I can. However, school starts next week and then I can't guarantee daily updates, but I can almost certainly guarantee weekly updates, so do not despair. I've been mulling over the Lucy problem and I've decided that it might be best to just have her and Harry have a long conversation in which her past is uncovered. I think it will flow better with the story than if I do what I was originally thinking of doing which was a kind of supplemental insert about her. By the way, this is a Ginny/Draco chapter, just so you know.

Chapter 17

As the hands on her alarm clock crept slowly towards the twelve, Ginny sat up and rubbed her eyes, making out the dim shadows of the trunks, beds, and sleeping girls in the dormitory. After listening for a moment to make sure that everyone was still asleep, she climbed out of bed to search for her clothing.

Fifteen minutes later Ginny stood in the middle of the deserted common room, feeling rather pleased at her speed. Usually she was slow. Harry had told her when she'd reemerged from her dormitory to collect some books that he'd hide the invisibility cloak under the cushion of his favorite red armchair so that she wouldn't have to worry about getting caught by Filch. Moving as quietly as possible, Ginny turned over the cushion. At first she didn't see anything, but then she caught a flash of the silvery material that made up the cloak. As she picked it up, a note fluttered to the floor. Ginny picked it up curiously and turned it around so that it was right-side-up: "Be Careful and Good Luck--Harry." Ginny smiled.

"At least he's not trying to lecture me the way Ron would be," Ginny muttered under her breath. Throwing the cloak over her head, Ginny silently left the common room, shutting the portrait carefully behind her. She noticed that the Fat Lady was gone and hoped the woman would return before she had to get back into Gryffindor.

The walk to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom was thankfully uneventful and Ginny got right to work stirring and monitoring the potion. Her hand was just beginning to cramp up from gripping the stirrer when she noticed with relief that it was nearly time for her to go.

A sudden noise made her freeze. _Someone_ _had just entered the bathroom_. "Oh Merlin," she moaned. If she were found...Ginny didn't even want to entertain the thoughts that were running through her head at the moment. She'd be expelled for sure. Maybe worse. Ginny shrunk back as far as she could into the stall. There was nothing to do but wait.

"There's a weasel in here somewhere," a soft, drawling voice came through the door to meet Ginny's horrified ears. How had he known?

The truth of the matter was, Draco Malfoy had been in his deserted classroom when Ginny had rushed by under the invisibility cloak. Of course he had not seen her, but he knew that someone had just passed. At the time he hadn't known who it was, of course, but he knew that Potter and Weasley and now the little Weasley made a habit of sneaking around after hours, so he decided to follow--maybe he could get them into trouble. Malfoy had known it was Ginny when he saw her pull off the cloak at the door to Myrtle's bathroom. There had been an unmistakable flash of that long red hair.

An unwelcome tingle had run up his spine and he'd quickly quashed the sensation. After a moment of debate, Draco decided to follow her into the bathroom. He told himself that he'd be able to pay her back for seeing him cry, but there was something else too. He didn't want to think about what it was. It was something he wasn't supposed to feel so he ignored it and concentrated on his plan to make the girl miserable.

"Come out Weasley. I know you're in there. And if you come out now maybe you'll be lucky and I won't go for Filch," Draco took a guess at the closed stall doors in front of him and flung one open. At first he didn't see her, just the bubbling cauldron that stood on top of the toilet, then he noticed Ginny in the corner and sniggered, "Scared, Weasel?"

"No!" Ginny snapped, launching herself out of the stall and into the blonde boy, catching him unawares and causing him to tumble backwards onto the cold tile, "Scared of _you_, Malfoy? Tell, me, why would I be scared of a whiny ferret?" Ginny growled, her fright at being discovered quickly changing into intense anger towards the boy on the floor who she was currently sitting on.

Malfoy glared at the girl above him. How dare this little blood-traitor speak to him in this manner, "Take that back, Weasley," he hissed.

"And what if I don't? Are you going to run to Daddy?"

Malfoy shoved Ginny roughly off of him and stood-up, "My father could have you and your entire family killed, Weasel, I wouldn't bring him into this if I were you."

Ginny opened her mouth to retort furiously but then noticed bruising and a deep cut along Malfoy's right arm where the sleeve of his robe had fallen back, "What happened?" she unconsciously softened her voice.

Draco followed Ginny's gaze and then quickly shook his sleeve over the injured arm. She should never have seen that. This was twice now that Ginny had seen weakness. First she caught him crying and now this. Malfoy felt another surge of anger, though he wasn't sure if it was really directed at the girl standing before him with her fists clenched at her sides.

"It's none of your business," he snapped at her and then turned his attention to the cauldron behind them, "You're going to be expelled for that you know," he sneered at her.

"Only if you tell," Ginny took a step toward him, a strange feeling welling-up inside of her.

"And why wouldn't I?" Draco stepped backwards, consciously aware that he did not want this girl to get too close to him, or...he brushed the thought a way. Her proximity to him was starting to drain away his anger in a way that was rather unsettling.

"I don't know, why wouldn't you?" Ginny met and held those cold grey eyes with hers.

"I _would_ tell." Malfoy stared right back.

"Then you'll get in trouble too. Not only are you out of bed after hours but you are also in the girls' bathroom," Ginny said coolly,

Malfoy crossed his arms. She was right. He'd get into trouble too. Damn her for being unintimidated and so quick on the uptake. He wasn't used to girls like this...at all. Trying to win back some of his bravado he narrowed his eyes, "It'd be a small price to pay for clearing Weasel dirt out of the school."

Ginny just stood looking at him calmly. Draco felt uncomfortable. She wasn't blowing up like he expected her to, like she usually did.

"How like you to say something like that Malfoy," Ginny felt the corners of her mouth quirk up slightly.

"What do you mean?" he looked at Ginny suspiciously. In all honesty, Draco wasn't sure how to handle the situation. He'd never been in one like this before.

"I mean that it's very much like you to be rude and hateful to cover up something that you don't want to face."

Draco felt his heart thud inside his chest. She couldn't possibly be right, could she? This Weasley could read him far too well. It was unsettling. He curled his mouth into a sneer, "And just what is it that I don't want to face?"

"I think you know," Ginny's heart was beating wildly and her palms were sweaty from being nervous. He might kill her if she actually said what she was thinking.

"Are you calling me a coward, Weasley?" he growled at her, stepping towards her threateningly.

"Yes, I guess I am," Ginny tilted her chin up.

"You little--" Malfoy started but was interrupted which was just as well for him because he couldn't exactly think of what to use to finish the sentence.

"I'm not scared of you Malfoy. I'm not like all the other people who run for cover when you come near."

The blonde boy arched an eyebrow. She wasn't a afraid of him? He was skeptical, "So if you're _not_ afraid of me, then why have you run away every time I've come near you?"

"I never said I didn't _used_ to be afraid of you. I'm just not afraid of you any more," Ginny looked at the tall boy standing in front of her, his blonde hair flopping into one cool, unemotional, grey eye. Who was he?

"So I don't scare you?" Malfoy moved towards Ginny and then immediately regretted it. It was for a reason that he didn't want to be near her. She had some sort of power over him and he wasn't about to be disgraced by being gotten the best of by a _Weasley_.

"No. You don't," Ginny advanced too. The speed of her heart made it difficult to breathe. What was she doing? The smartest thing to do at this point would be to turn and run. She could deal with the consequences of being caught making a potion in the girl's bathroom after hours. Malfoy would be in trouble too. But for some reason her feet wouldn't move, so she stood still.

Now there was altogether too much tension between them for Draco to take. He didn't know what to do. He wasn't used to being the one affected. He was used to being the one who had the effect. And right now all he was aware of was the closeness of her body and her clear brown eyes looking intensely at him. Those eyes. He opened his mouth to say something snide back to the girl standing in front of him, but the words wouldn't come. Then Draco suddenly became a whole lot more aware of Ginny.

Before she really knew what she was doing, Ginny closed the distance between her and the Slytherin Prince in one step. With a second movement, her lips had closed over his, meeting soft warmth, completely unexpected from one who had such and icy demeanor and a shiver ran down her spine.

To put it lightly, Draco was shocked. His first impulse was to jerk away from Ginny, but his body seemed to have ideas of its own and he found his arms encircle her of their own accord and his lips press back against hers. Softly and then more firmly. Then suddenly Draco felt as though a hand had clutched his heart and emotion pierced through it. He gasped and pulled away.

"Oh," Ginny whispered, putting a hand to her mouth and stepping away from him and into the row of stalls behind her, "Oh. Oh I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-- I didn't--" her eyes were wide with both shock and shame. She had just willing kissed Malfoy. Not only had she kissed him, she had been the one to instigate it. It was so utterly wrong. But so good, a little voice at the back of her brain added.

Draco, pleased that she had put distance between them which allowed him to think more clearly, crossed his arms haughtily, "I knew you wanted me, Weasel." It would do nothing good to show her just how she had affected him...how _he_ had wanted _her_.

Ginny stared at him, outraged. The nerve of him. To suggest that it had all been her. He hadn't resisted. In fact, just the opposite. He had certainly kissed her back. She knew it would do no good to argue, so with one last defiant glare she threw the invisibility cloak over her and left the bathroom, leaving Malfoy alone.

What the hell had she been thinking? Ginny cursed herself silently as she wove her way through the halls. That was the problem, she realized. She hadn't been thinking. If she had been she certainly wouldn't have kissed him. Well it certainly wouldn't happen again. But unfortunately, knowing Malfoy, he'd tell the entire school how the littlest Weasley had thrown herself at him. Ginny scowled. Well she'd show him if it came to that. Despite her outward disgust and annoyance, Ginny couldn't ignore the bubble of warmth in her stomach. But she tried.

Draco Malfoy, for his part, leaned against the wall after Ginny left, trying to clear his head which was proving difficult to do. Had she been right? _Was_ there something he wasn't facing. There were lots of things he wasn't facing, Draco knew that. But was there one thing in particular that he wasn't facing? That he _couldn't_ face because it would uproot everything he'd been raised on? Maybe. Maybe there was. Then he raised his head. No. He was a Malfoy and Malfoys did not care for anybody. Not that he _was_ caring for anybody, Draco hurriedly told himself, but it was something that Malfoys did not do.

"Damn," he whispered and kicked at a puddle leftover from Myrtle's last flood. Then he spat into one of the sinks before scrubbing at his mouth with some water. He didn't want any particle of that Weasley girl to be left on him. Not a single one. With a last look around the bathroom that lingered on the cauldron, Draco left and returned to the Slytherin Dungeon where he hoped to wipe the entire episode from his mind.

At the same time that Draco was making his way to the Slytherin common room, Ginny was climbing into her four poster. Sleep would make everything better, Ginny told herself. Sleep solved everything. She would be with her friends tomorrow and she would not have to think about Malfoy once if she didn't want to.

A/N: Chapter 17DONE. So now there are a few more sparks flying between a certain Gryffindor and a certain Slytherin. Who knows how long it will be before they overcome their stubborness though. It is a shorter chapter though. Only five pages this time and I don't think that it was one of my better chapters. Sorry guys. But I think it got everything I wanted gotten across, across. I'll be writing more soon. REVIEW. Please. Thank you. :o)


	18. Chapter Eighteen

A/N: Sorry about the delay. I just got a new computer so I wasn't able to transfer this over to get it posted yesterday. However, there is a bright side: TWO new chapters will be up today (this one and one other). All right, well with some luck this chapter will be improved from the previous one... Although my concentration doesn't seem to be quite all here. Thanks so much for the new reviews. I can't tell you guys how happy it makes me to see those things waiting for me in my e-mail inbox. I always jump around and yell, "Yay! I got reviewed!" Ok, well not really, but you get the idea I think. :o)

Chapter 18

Harry remained seated in the common room after Ginny had gone back up to the girls' dorm for the second time. He had carefully tucked his invisibility cloak under the chair he was sitting in, and he felt reassured that no one would catch Ginny while she was out. Filch would have a hay-day if he managed to learn what the three of them were up to. And Snape... But there was no other option for them, really.

Harry shook his head. Somehow it no longer felt like making the Memorium Potion was enough. Yes it might help them figure out what would have to be done to bring Hermione back to them, but unless the Osembleraniat were gotten rid of, nothing would keep it from attacking Hermione again--or someone else for that matter.

Harry jumped to his feet and strode purposefully across the common room to where his bag lay against the wall. Rifling through it, he pulled out a stack of notes that he'd taken during that evening's explorations in the library. Somewhere in the pile Harry was fairly sure that he'd be able to find the key or at least a hint to the key to what would get rid of the Osembleraniat.

"Harry?" someone spoke his name softly from behind.

"Hmm?" Harry stuffed the notes back into his bag and turned to face whoever it was. Lucy's clear blue eyes met his own.

"Listen, I know this might be a bad time, but I really need to talk to you," Lucy twisted her hands nervously together.

"I..." Harry's first impulse was to say no, he wanted to go through his notes, but then he realized that if Lucy was being possessed by the Osembleraniat, then she might be able to help, wittingly or not, "All right," he glanced around the common room, "Do you want to stay in here?"

"Well I'd actually been thinking maybe we could go into the hall where we wouldn't be disturbed," and suddenly Harry was aware of something that looked like a struggle going on behind Lucy's eyes, between something harsh and herself, as though she was saying things she didn't mean to say.

"Actually, I, er, think we ought to stay in here. In just a few minutes it'll be after hours and then if we get caught we'll be in trouble," The after hours excuse was a lame one, Harry knew it, especially considering the number of times he'd broken curfew, but he thought that there was a chance that Lucy wouldn't realize it. He seated himself back in his armchair in the hopes that Lucy would take the cue and sit down in the one across from him.

The girl stood indecisively for a moment before she seemed to relent and she came to sit in the chair, "Harry," her voice was frightened, "I don't know what to do. Just now when I suggested going into the hall, I hadn't meant to say that. I don't know why I did. Things like that keep happening to me. I don't know what's going on."

"So I guess you want to talk about it?" Harry asked awkwardly, not entirely sure of what he should do--or say.

"I--" again there was a different, harsher expression in Lucy's eyes, but she seemed to push past it, "Yes," she said firmly, "Yes I want to talk about it. But you have to promise not to tell anyone. I don't want to be expelled," she looked worried.

"I wouldn't tell. Believe me, I've had my share of unsavory events."

A small smile flickered across Lucy's face, "Yes, I've heard all about those 'events.' You've got quite a few admirers in the girls' dorm, you know."

"Er...yeah. Listen," Harry strove to steer them back on topic, "before you start telling me whatever you were going to tell me, can I say a couple of things?"

Lucy looked slightly confused, "I suppose so."

"Over the summer I got visited by an--" he'd been about to say "Osembleraniat" but realized that it might not be the best idea to reveal that he knew what the creature was, "I don't know what it was. But anyway, the first few times I noticed it, it had no shape. It was just like a piece of wispy fog or cloud hanging about in my room. The last time I saw it it had a form though. It was a girl. And the girl looked exactly like you," Harry finished and then looked carefully at the girl seated across from him.

"Oh!" Lucy sat up straighter, "I was very sick over the summer. There are long periods of time that I don't remember anything from. Do you suppose I could have been possessed during that time?"

"I'm sure that it would have been possible. From what I know, it's easier to be possessed when your resistance is down," Harry had gotten this from Ginny, "Your mind is much more vulnerable."

"That makes sense," Lucy nodded and then her face fell slightly, "No one pays much attention to me at home, so I doubt that anyone would have noticed if I disappeared for a short period of time from my bedroom."

Harry furrowed his brow, "They don't pay attention to you? I can relate to that a bit. I live with my aunt, uncle, and cousin and they're all really foul."

"So then you know what it's like. I live with my uncle. My mother died giving birth to me and no one knows who my father is. My uncle didn't want to take me in, but my mother was his favorite little sister and she requested it before she died, so he felt he had to," Lucy ran a hand through her hair, "Most of the time I'm on my own. He's always away. I don't even know what he does. I think he hates me. Probably because I remind him of his sister. There are house elves of course, they always come with manors, but they're not usually too much comfort--always squeaking and bowing."

Harry looked with new eyes at the forlorn looking girl in front of him. Unconsciously he'd always seen Lucy as the spoiled rich girl with a happy and safe family-life. Clearly that was not the case, "I'm really sorry, Lucy."

"Don't be," she smiled wanly, "There's nothing you can do about it."

"I know...but still. Homes without love..." Harry let the sentence dangle.

"Anyway," Lucy seemed to have bolstered herself, "You think all the possession stuff might have gotten started when I was sick?"

"Might've," Harry nodded thoughtfully, "What did you have?"

"That's the funny thing, I don't know. I was absolutely fine the day beforehand and then when I woke up in the morning was I was horribly ill. Raving, really. I had all sorts of hallucinations I think. At least, that's what I was told. No one knew what I'd gotten. All sorts of mediwizards came through the house but none of them could shed any light on the matter. I don't remember much. It's all rather foggy."

An idea was forming in Harry's mind, but it seemed a bit of a stretch, so he tried to ignore it, "Well if you were really sick then, it makes sense that the...thing...would have been able to get into you, you being as weak as you were."

"Yes," Lucy acknowledged, "Besides, when I got to the point of being extremely sick, no one was allowed in to see me at all besides my uncle. My room was completely off limits so if I disappeared then, people _really_ wouldn't have ever noticed. I don't think my uncle stopped in much. He probably was hoping that I'd die," Lucy said bitterly.

"Oh no. No I don't think so. I don't think he wanted you dead," Harry said before he could stop himself.

"What do you mean?" Lucy picked up on Harry's tone of voice.

"I...er...nothing. I just don't think he'd wish death on his own flesh and blood."

"He would," Lucy shuddered, "He's a cruel man, Harry. So manipulative. I'm counting the days until I come of age and can leave. He truly frightens me."

"I don't blame you." They sat in silence for several moments.

"Harry?" Lucy spoke up finally--tentatively.

"Yeah?" Harry looked up.

"I still haven't told you what I came down to tell you."

"Oh right. Yeah. What is it?" Harry felt curiosity well up in him, but he tried not to let it show.

"Harry...I...I think that I'm the one who attacked Hermione. I have a memory--" suddenly Lucy broke off and her eyes fluttered closed. Harry jumped to his feet, but before he could do anything her eyes opened again. This time, however, she wasn't behind them. Ealia was.

"Harry," the thing in Lucy's body said softly, "I've apparently been too lenient with Lucy. She was never supposed to tell you about Hermione's attacker...never. And since you know about _that_," a smile flowed across Lucy's face, "I'll have to take care of you now before you find anything else out that will hinder me."

Then she...it, didn't know that he knew what it was, Harry thought with some relief. That much was still safe. At least Osembleraniats didn't appear to be all-knowing. But Harry didn't have time to think on that any longer as Lucy, or Ealia, had risen from the chair and was gliding towards him. He went to grab his wand out of his robe pocket, but found to his horror that he couldn't move.

The smile widened, "Poor little Potter. He's been trapped in his body. You didn't think that I'd let you get away from me again, did you, silly boy? No," Ealia's voice lowered, "Tonight you will be mine."

Harry felt panic grip at his heart as Ealia leaned over him, and taking his face in her hands, kissed him. Harry tried to twist away and once again found that he was unable to move. His mouth however, had been parted slightly, like a lover's waiting for a passionate kiss. This only served to remind Harry of a Dementor's kiss and how Ealia certainly seemed to have the power to take souls.

Harry felt Lucy's body press against him as Ealia leaned closer and ran her hands through his hair, those lovely blue eyes gone cold and close to his own--though he couldn't help but think that if it were really Lucy who were doing this he wouldn't mind so much.

This was it. Harry squeezed his eyes shut, determined not to watch his own end as Lucy's face lowered onto his again and her hands snaked across his chest. But then he suddenly found he could move and upon opening his eyes he found that Lucy was nowhere to be found.

"You all right, Harry?" Harry twisted around (feeling relief at being able to move his limbs again) to see Seamus standing in front of the portrait hole looking somewhat worried.

"Er...yeah, I'm fine."

"Ok...you didn't look so good a minute ago. You looked like something was pinning you down."

"Dream probably," Harry said in what he hoped was a firm voice. I was down here doing a bit of reading and I guess I fell asleep."

Seamus stared at him a moment longer and then shrugged, "You ought to get some sleep then."

"Yeah. Yeah I should. I'll turn in in a bit. I want to get my stuff packed up," Harry gestured to his bag and the few contents that were spilling out.

Seamus nodded, "See you later then," and he walked up the steps to the boys dormitory and disappeared behind the door.

Harry lost no time gathering his things into his bag. He didn't want to give Ealia a second shot at getting him. It was clear that this was a much more dangerous game than he, Ron, or Ginny had previously thought. Ginny. He hoped things were going all right with the potion and that she hadn't run into Filch along the way. He wondered again at her insistence on being the one to check on the potion and then his thoughts turned towards her problems with Malfoy. It wasn't possible that the two were connected, was it? Harry didn't know, but Ginny had a good head, she wouldn't get herself into unwarranted trouble.

He climbed the stairs and a yawn split his head. As Harry climbed into bed several moments later he decided that he'd have to tell Ron and Ginny about this occurrence as soon as possible. The day after tomorrow was Hogsmeade, he'd try to catch them then--it seemed to risky to lay everything out on the table in the school. Ealia knew how to get around undetected.

A/N: Whew, another one churned out. I'm telling you, this is getting to be a full-time job. A chapter a day (usually)...I feel like a machine, but a machine that's having fun. I hope this chapter answered some of your questions about Lucy. I tried to put some background in. I KNOW it's a bit short again--5 pages which is my minimum number to write, but I really couldn't take it much further. Thanks again to all of you who are eagerly awaiting the next installments and REVIEWING. (Hint: if you're NOT reviewing, you definitely should).


	19. Chapter Nineteen

A/N: So here's the second one, guys. As promised. See? I keep my promises. I'm a trustworthy writer. :o) Please note, the F-word is used twice in this chapter. I hope no one is offended. I figured I ought to alert people to its presence just in case.

Chapter 19

Cheerful conversation and chatter brought Ginny to her senses. Despite fighting to stay in slumber, she was pulled out of sleep and groaned, stretching her arms above her head. Friday. What a glorious day. Nothing could ever go wrong on a friday.

Ginny was contentedly getting dressed when the events of the previous evening hit her. In fact, they hit her so hard she had to sit back down on her bed again with her shirt half on, "Oh fuck," she allowed the expletive to slip out as she only did in rare moments, then she let it slip out again, "Fuck."

She had potions. Not a double period, thank whatever all-powerful being existed, Ginny thought, but it was potions nonetheless. That meant sitting next to Malfoy for an hour and forty-five minutes and being partnered with him for what ever potion was to be made. So much for Friday being the blissfully happy day that it should be.

Ginny dragged her feet the whole way down to breakfast. And once she reached the entrance to the Great Hall, her heart was pounding so hard that she was worried that everyone she passed would hear it. Ginny glanced in what she hoped was a nonchalant way at the Slytherin table, half dreading and half hoping... He was there. The blonde hair was unmistakable as were the finely chiseled features that made up the face beneath it. And he seemed to be stewing on something. His brow was crinkled and his mouth was a tight line and he was paying no attention whatsoever to the simpering Pansy Parkinson who sat on his left.

Suddenly Malfoy raised his head, "Oh Merlin," Ginny whispered and fled to the Gryffindor table where she seated herself between Harry and Ron, but not before Malfoy had seen her looking at him.

He'd gone through a thought-process similar to Ginny's when he'd woken up that morning too. He didn't know how he'd be able to stand sitting next to the girl in potions. It simply wasn't doable. She had kissed him, it was revolting. Why the very thought of it made him sick, or so he insisted to himself. However, that didn't keep him from following the Weasley girl's flaming hair with his eyes as it bobbed across the room towards the Gryffindor table.

"You ok, Gin?" Ron immediately peered concernedly into Ginny's face when she sat down.

"I'm _fine_, Ron," Ginny fought back an intense feeling of irritation.

"Ok, ok. You don't have to get snappy," Ron hurriedly leaned away from his sister, "You just look upset about something."

"For heaven's sake--" Ginny began hotly and then stopped, "No, listen. We've been fighting too much, Ron. I'm not really sure why, but we have. I think we should try to stop. There's been too much bickering. It's beginning to drive me mad."

"About time," Harry muttered, looking up from his egg.

Ron looked surprised but then grinned, "Yeah, you're right. I'm too protective. Well let's start over then, shall we?"

"Yeah."

That settled, Ron immediately turned his attention to Harry, "Did you find anything else about--" Ron looked around and then lowered his voice, "about the, you know?"

"Sort of," Harry replied in a hushed tone, and Ginny leaned in to hear what he'd say, "But I'm not going to talk about it here. I think we should meet up in Hogsmeade tomorrow and talk about it then."

Ginny shook her head, "Dunno Harry, I'm going with Dean, remember? I don't think he'd fancy me ditching him to go off and talk to you lot," she was beginning to regret agreeing to go with Dean. But then again, what else was she supposed to have said to him? He was a friend and she couldn't very well refuse.

"Oh right. I forgot," Harry rumpled his hair in a way that was distinctly like his father but was fast becoming a habit of his own.

"So what do we do then?" Ron asked.

"Dunno," Harry looked thoughtful, "Let me think about it. We'll come up with something."

Just then the bell rang loudly, "Oh! It's later than I thought," Ginny stood-up hurriedly and snatched up the bag from under her seat, closely followed by her brother and Harry. Half of her wanted to ditch class and avoid facing the boy she'd faced, well more than faced, in the bathroom last night, but Snape would probably track her down and give her some awful type of detention for it. She sighed. Chin up, she thought, everyone runs into tough times. Yeah, said a little voice at the back of her mind, but how many people go and snog their worst enemy in the loo at past one in the morning? Ginny didn't think the numbers were too high.

She reached the classroom and was in her seat before Malfoy arrived. This Ginny was glad of because it was rather like staking out the territory first. She had already unpacked her textbook, quills, and notebook, and was setting up her cauldron by the time Malfoy got there.

Draco had been cutting it close on purpose--in his mind the less he had to be around that weasel, the better. He entered the classroom and, seeing that Weasley was already there, he stalked up the aisle, careful to avoid looking in her direction and trying to appear as though he didn't care a whit about her--which of course, he didn't.

Ginny, for her part, was attempting to do the very same thing, and was concentrating hard on copying down the notes that Snape had put up on the board. However, she didn't really know what the notes were about due to the fact that most of her mind was occupied with the fact that Malfoy was nearby.

Despite hoping for an individual work day, Ginny's wish was not granted. Snape swept into the room, his dark eyes moving swiftly over the students arranged in front of him, "Today you will be working in pairs on a very advanced potion. I'm putting you in pairs so that those of you who are absolutely _abysmal _in potions," here Snape's glittering eyes fell on Neville, who flushed and looked away, "may have some chance at scraping by with any grade at all. The potion is the Confundus Draught. It does hold some relation to the spell, however it is much stronger and much longer lasting. Can anyone tell me _why_ it is stronger?" Snape glanced around the dungeon. This time there was no Hermione to give the answer, "Ah. I see we are missing our favorite know-it-all," Snape said softly, eyes flashing with almost concealed malice.

Ginny heard Malfoy give a little snort, "Shut up, you," she hissed at him, quite forgetting that she was supposed to be ignoring him.

Malfoy sobered, "Oh that's right, you're a friend to dirty mudbloods. I always forget." Of course, Draco hadn't remotely forgotten, but he got a certain pleasure out of pushing Weasley's buttons.

Ginny refused to take the bait and instead gritted her teeth and looked away. Snape was still talking so she tried to focus on him, "I have written the instructions on the board. You may begin." He swept into his office still looking for all the world like an overgrown bat.

Working together silently with no little amount of tension between them, Ginny and Draco gathered their ingredients and set to work, slowly and carefully adding and mixing as needed. At one point, Ginny was about to add Deazelknut into a beaker of Hollyhock extract when Snape appeared by their table.

"What do you think you are doing, Miss Weasley?"

"Making the potion, sir," Ginny replied calmly.

"I don't think so. Nowhere does it say up there," Snape gestured at the board behind him, "to add Deazelknut into Hollyhock extract. Please, Miss Weasley, I know your family may not be the smartest bunch, but I thought you had a _bit_ more common sense," his mouth twisted into a nasty expression.

Ginny kept still, but when Snape left she found herself trembling with fury. It wasn't so much _what_ he had said, which was certainly bad enough, but _how_ he had said it. Trying to keep her hands steady, Ginny reached for the Rowan branch that was to be used to stir the potion and suddenly Malfoy's hand closed over her own. Shocked, Ginny yanked backwards, nearly knocking over the scales next to her.

"Don't stir with Rowan yet," Draco hissed. He thought it lucky that he'd happened to look up in time from his slicing to see what Ginny was about to do. It could have been disastrous if she'd managed to put the Rowan into the potion at that point in the potion's stage, "What is _with_ you today, anyway, Weasley? You're mixing everything up," Draco wasn't sure why he was talking to her, but somehow it felt right.

"I beg your pardon," Ginny said coldly, finding Malfoy's apparent inability to be aware of what had just passed between her and Snape rather offensive, "I just had both my family and my potion-making skills insulted by the professor of this class. I apologize if I'm _weak_ and let those things get to me."

"You were messing-up earlier, Weasel. That's what prompted Professor Snape to talk to you in the first place," Malfoy retorted, feeling his temper rise at Ginny's cool tone, "What's bothering you?"

"It isn't any of your business," she snapped.

Malfoy lowered his voice and Ginny was chagrined to hear that once again the boy knew her thoughts rather accurately, "Last night getting to you?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Malfoy," Ginny growled, wiping potion droplets off of her hands.

"I don't have to flatter myself, I _ know._"

Ginny couldn't help it, she let out a snort. He was so full of himself, "Right, Malfoy, whatever makes you happy. Although," she added after a pause, "You're never actually happy, so maybe it's not working for you. You're a very unhappy boy."

Malfoy put down his knife and crossed his arms, "What do you mean?"

Ginny suddenly felt a spark of compassion for the boy, "You're not. You're always weighed down by something. I don't think you've ever gotten to be a kid." Ok, not very eloquent, Ginny knew it, but it was the truth, and from the look that flashed across the blonde Slytherin's face, he seemed to agree.

Draco was surprised. In fact, Ginny's observance had caught him off-guard. As much as he hated to admit it, the girl seemed to know intuitively what made him up. He suddenly became aware that Weasley was still looking at him and that he was probably showing his thoughts clear as day on his face. In order to hide them, he turned away and bent to pick up the knife. From this safe vantage point, he spoke, "What're you saying about my childhood, Weasel?" he did his best to sneer.

"I don't know anything about your childhood."

"Damn right you don't. You should keep your fat mouth shut before you talk about people's families," Draco turned back to stare angrily at the redhead, the anger radiating off of him. Wittingly or not, she had touched on a very sore spot.

Ginny, taken aback by the sudden strength of Malfoy's anger, stepped backward unthinkingly, but then recovered and set down the cloth she'd been using to wipe her hands, "Until you recognize your demons, they'll eat you out from the inside, Draco." Shit. Ginny mentally slapped herself. What was she doing, using his first name like that, "Malfoy."

That was the second time in a matter of minutes that little Miss Weasley had caught him unawares. What was she playing at? She had absolutely no right to use his first name. She had dirtied it just by saying it. Draco conveniently ignored the little jump his stomach had given at the sound of Ginny saying his name. Unable to think of anything to say in return because deep inside Draco knew she was right, he started adding his sliced roots to the bubbling mass in the cauldron. However, he could not shake off her presence no matter how hard he focused on the potion directions: "Stir once counterclockwise then add two pinches of carefully sliced Herbian root. Repeat."

Finally he couldn't take it anymore. Carfully setting down the stirrer, Draco reached into his bag and pulled out a fine black quill and a piece of parchment. After thinking a moment, he slowly lowered the quill into his bottle of ink and then even more slowly began to write. A moment later he finished and carefully folded up the note.

Ginny, feeling that she had already spoken too much to Malfoy, simply ignored him for the rest of the lesson. She was pleased when Snape grudgingly complemented their potion, saying that they had certainly managed better than any of the rest of the class. Neville's robes were smoking, Lavender Brown's cauldron looked like a geyser and around her everyone was ducking for cover from the boiling drops of solution, and Crabbe and Goyle were bumbling about idiotically due to having inadvertently inhaled a rather large jet of steam that shot out of Blaise Zabini's cauldron. Ron had only been spared from the same fate by a stroke of luck that had him turned in the opposite direction, squinting at the blackboard.

As Ginny slowly made her way up an aisle to exit the classroom, she was bumped into violently from behind, causing her to topple forwards and drop her bag, "Oh _excuse_ me." From her vantage point, Ginny had a top rate view of Malfoy's shoe directly in front of her nose.

"Yes, _Malfoy_, excuse you," Ginny grumbled and sat up to rub her knee which had collided rather forcefully with the stone floor.

"I'd love to help you clean up, but I'm rather in a hurry," he sneered and stepped over the sprawled girl, but not before a tightly folded piece of parchment dropped from his hand to come to land on Ginny's Transfiguration book.

By this time, Harry was having to restrain Ron who was wildly swinging his fists, "Let me at him, Harry! He knocked Ginny down."

Draco, after seeing he was in no immediate harm, curled his lip, "Weasley, you couldn't do anything to me if you were actually free to try," and with that, he strode from the classroom.

Ginny hadn't missed the note and had snatched it up as soon as Malfoy was past. She thrust it into a pocket and then set to putting her things back into her bag. Luckily, no ink bottles had broken, and indeed, nothing else had been harmed either, so it was with relative speed that Ginny was repacked and out in the corridor.

"Are you all right?" Harry and Ron were waiting for her outside the classroom.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Malfoy just gave me a shove from behind."

"The git," Ron muttered murderously.

"Listen, Ron and I are off to ask McGonagall a question about her latest essay. We'll see you at lunch maybe."

"Yeah, ordinarily we wouldn't bother about trying to see her, but this essay's rather important and as Hermione's not around..." Ron grimaced.

"I understand. I'll see you around then," Ginny waved them off. Once the two boys had disappeared around the corner, Ginny glanced both ways down the hall to make sure she was alone, then she drew out the folded piece of paper that Malfoy had dropped. She unfolded it and read:

"Listen,Weasley, meet me in the deserted classroom tonight at twelve sharp.

-D.M"

Ginny read it a second time before thrusting it back into her pocket and continuing on her way. So he wanted to meet with her. Her heart fluttered at the thought. It looked as though she'd have to get ahold of Harry's cloak again; either that or be really really sneaky...

A/N: And that was your second chapter for the day. I hope you liked it. I liked writing it more than I liked writing the last one. Anyway...(you know what's coming)...REVIEW!


	20. Chapter Twenty

A/N: This morning I got up as usual and checked my e-mail. I was very pleased to see a collection of new reviews. One review I feel I have to address simply because the person who wrote it _did_ finish the story and apparently gathered his/her opinion from that instead of simply jumping to conclusions. I also am able to see quite clearly where this reviewer is coming from as I have been in his/her shoes many times before. The thing is, I don't know if he/she will come back to read further simply because he/she did not like the story.

ThoroughlyAnnoyed: I completely understand your offense at my interpretation of Draco Malfoy's character. You're right, he's not like the Draco Malfoy that JK Rowling created (the "real" Malfoy, if you like). The reason I have taken the direction that I have with DM is because DM in the books is a rather flat character. And maybe he **is** just the self-rightous prick that he comes off as being, but I like to think that maybe there's more in there, maybe he has reasons to back up his attitude, maybe he puts up fronts and barriers. And maybe I'm just thinking too romantically and giving him too much of the benefit of the doubt. The thing is, in the books, Draco Malfoy is only seen from Harry's point of view (we hear others talking about him but we only get Harry's thoughts on him) and Harry hates him so it makes sense to me that we as readers would never see anything that would make Draco seem like anything less than a jerk. Of course there is absolutely no denying that Draco has done (and is usually doing) some really awful things. However, I think there _is_ something else there. In the first book Draco appears to attempt to make a connection with Harry--he **is**quite rude about it, no denying that--but he tries. Harry refuses because of what Hagrid has told him, which forever sets the two boys against each other. We see Draco crying alone in the bathroom in the sixth book. That says to me that he's got more going on inside then previously shown--he has emotion. I think Draco is wholly alone. He belongs nowhere. He's clearly not the vicious deatheater that his father is. He hates Gryffindor and everything that it stands for. I see him as being on the fence. He makes his presence known by being an ass; it's all he seems to be able to do. No, he is not a nice person, I would never argue that, but I don't see him as being completely one dimensional either. And let me just say, I am simply writing a fanfic and have put a twist of my own on a character. I never ever would be so high-minded as to say that I know JKR's characters better than she does. That would be impossible. I think JKR is brilliant and no one could write her stories better than she can so I certainly would not try. I'm very sorry to have offended you. I have been in your place many times before and I know it can be frustrating. But thank you for at least reading the entire story before sending in your review. I appreciate it.

P.S. Ginny **is** a smart girl and I certainly am not attempting to degrade her. However, through my own experiences and those of others, I know that sometimes attraction happens between the most unlikely and nonsensical people.

P.P.S. Actually, I know Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet quite well. Besides reading the play multiple times on my own and in an English class, I also played Juliet in my high school's production of the show. However, I did not mean for there to be any correlation between this story and R&J. That thought had not even crossed my mind. (Personally, I also don't find Tom Felton incredibly attractive. He portrays his role extremely well, but my fascination for Draco comes from, in my mind, the mystery of his character).

Chapter 20

Ginny awoke at 11:45 sharp. She decided she wasn't going to change out of her pajamas. A pair of flannel pants and a muggle t-shirt that her father had picked-up from somewhere seemed entirely appropriate to her. Besides, she was just going to meet _Malfoy_ and he didn't warrant anything particularly special. Slipping her feet into a pair of slippers, Ginny padded out of the dormitory and into the common room. Once there she stood still and silent in the middle of the darkened room, thinking. Girls could get into the boys' dorm. Ginny knew as much from all the Christmases where she'd exploded into the room to wake-up her brother and Harry. If she were really quiet she might be able to get to Harry's trunk and get the invisibility cloak out. And, well, if she were caught she'd have to come up with some sort of excuse.

Hardly daring to breathe, Ginny pushed open the door to the boys' dormitory, silently thanking the house elves' good work when the door didn't squeak but swung open without a sound. She tiptoed into the room and peered through the darkness, trying to make out which bed and trunk was Harry's. Then she heard the unmistakable sound of Ron's snoring. Stifling a laugh, Ginny shuffled towards the noise, knowing that Harry's bed was probably right next to Ron's. She was right. She could see the moonlight reflecting off of Harry's glasses which were on the bedside table that was next to bed next to Ron's. Still moving slowly and deliberately, Ginny knelt down and carefully lifted the lid on Harry's trunk. The invisibility cloak lay on top, glittering softly in the moon's silvery light. Ginny lifted it out and then closed the lid softly. Struck with a sudden idea, she covered herself with the cloak before standing up again. At least that way if she woke anyone up they wouldn't see her

Two minutes later Ginny stood safely outside the portrait hole. She assumed that the deserted classroom that Malfoy had told her about was the one in which she'd caught him crying so she headed purposefully in that direction, meeting with no barrier except for Peeves who was bobbing close to the ceiling in one corridor, cackling gleefully to himself. When she arrived at the door to the classroom she was ten minutes late due to having gotten lost a couple of times along the way. It was better being late anyway, Ginny thought, it was probably good for Malfoy to have to wait around.

She entered the classroom and saw Malfoy standing against a wall, arms crossed, and looking rather impatient. Ginny rolled her eyes and then pulled off the cloak, setting it on a nearby desk, "What do you want Malfoy?"

"I'm not used to being made to wait," Malfoy looked at Ginny peevishly, feeling distinct irritation. _He_ had been there early.

"Too bad," Ginny said simply, "What do you want?" she repeated, stifling a yawn.

"I wanted to talk to you," Malfoy said, an impudent edge to his voice. What was she doing anyway, acting like she was in charge of it all.

"I figured that much out," Ginny was tired and she didn't bother to hide the slight annoyance she felt at being called out of bed at a late hour for the third night in a row. She'd long forgotten by this time the butterflies she'd felt at receiving the note.

"Well aren't you the smart one?" Malfoy snapped sarcastically.

"Get to the point, Malfoy," Ginny grumped, "I want to go back to bed."

"No you don't."

"Yes, actually, I do. Hogsmeade is tomorrow, I'd like to be well-rested."

Draco sneered, "Yeah, you need all the beauty sleep you can get," So not true, but it made him feel more in charge when he said it. For a moment anyway.

"Fine. I'm leaving. I didn't come here to be insulted. And your insults, by the way, are pathetic," Ginny turned sharply away and started walking back to the desk to get the cloak.

"Wait, Weasel."

Ginny turned around again, looking coldly back at Malfoy, "Why should I? Why should I have anything to do with you. I've been thinking and I think it would be best if we just forgot about the bathroom episode and went back to never having any contact," maybe _this_ would make him talk.

Draco forced himself to look back at her just as coldly, "You can try, if you like. But if you walk out that door now I will tell about your little project in the loo."

Ginny felt a clutch at her heart, "You'll get in trouble too."

"Not really. I'm a prefect. I could just say that I was out and I heard a noise so I went to investigate."

"They'd never believe you," Ginny retorted, but she stopped moving towards the door.

"They would. If I were you, I'd stay where you are."

"Fine. Talk then," Ginny climbed onto a nearby desk where she sat cross-legged and waited for the boy to start.

Now that she was hear, Draco didn't want to talk. The whole thing now seemed an awful lot like a bad idea. He just stared at her.

Ginny drummed her fingers on the desktop for a moment and then crossed her arms, her insides churning oddly the longer the silence stretched out, "Your eyes are so empty."

"What are you talking about?" Draco was taken aback.

"Don't you ever feel anything? Do you even _have_ a soul in there?"

"I have a soul!"

"Then why are you so blank. Are you shutting out pain?"

"_What are you talking about?_" Malfoy asked more sharply.

"You," Ginny replied simply.

Draco Malfoy was at a loss again. The youngest member of the Weasley family seemed to have a knack for completely uprooting him...and knowing so much. Now she had stepped towards him, "Stay away from me!" Draco blurted.

Ginny stopped, "I wasn't going to touch you. I was just going to look at your eyes."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want you near me."

"Why?"

"Because I don't!" Malfoy's voice grew louder.

"All right, all right," Ginny retreated back to her desk, "Then get to the point of whatever it was that you called me down here for. I don't want to be here all night."

Draco knew he was going to have to swallow his pride. There wasn't any way around it, "Can I talk to you?" he muttered.

"We are talking," Ginny raised an eyebrow.

"You _know_ what I mean," Malfoy felt decidedly uncomfortable.

"What? What's this I hear? Draco Malfoy, prince of Slytherin and all time hater of Gryffindor wants to talk to a Gryffindor?"

"Shut up, Weasley. Just because I'm here with you doesn't mean that I like your house," he paused, "or the people in it."

"Except me," Ginny said softly.

"No. I don't like you. I just want to talk to you," Draco insisted.

"Why me? Can't you talk to Pansy or Zabini or some other Slytherin?"

"They don't," he took a deep breath, "They don't really understand things."

"And I do?" Ginny asked skeptically.

"You do," Draco affirmed.

Ginny didn't know what to think. Maybe she'd wake up tomorrow and find the whole thing had been a dream. This was so unrealistic. Malfoy wanted to talk to her because she understood things? It didn't make sense at all, but there he was telling her that, "Well...I...I suppose you can talk to me then," she affixed herself more firmly to the desk as though it were an anchor."

"Ok. Well, you're right about me. Mostly," this was more difficult than Draco had previously thought. It felt very strange to be opening himself up at all, let alone to someone who was technically one of his enemies.

"Tell me something I don't already know," Ginny grinned in spite of herself, alleviating some of the tension in the room.

"Will you let me talk? This is hard for me."

"I know. I'm sorry," Ginny waited.

"I...my life has not been a particularly good one. Deatheaters don't care about their children. Mostly we're left alone in an empty house. But it's all I've ever known."

"Yeah. Deatheaters are a foul," for a moment Ginny forgot who she was talking to, "Your dad is the worst of the lot. He's evil."

Draco's face darkened with anger, "Don't talk about my father like that. Maybe I was wrong about you. You can leave."

"I...oh...I didn't..."

"You can _leave_," Draco turned away from Ginny to look intently into a dark corner.

"Malfoy..."

"No."

"I forgot."

"You _forgot_? He's my father! Don't _ever_ talk about my family again, _Weasel_. At least my family has social standing," he sneered, still refusing to look at her.

Ginny shook her head, by now she was used to Malfoy's slights on her family, but they still stung a bit, "Sure, if you think social standing is being a muggle and non-pureblood wizard killer!" she said hotly.

"Leave. I don't want to talk to you!" why did she have to ruin everything? Malfoy felt incredibly let down.

"FINE. Deal with your problems on your own then. I don't care," Ginny jumped from the desk, snatching up the invisibility cloak which she threw over her head. She was fuming. Yes, it was her fault that he'd gone off on her, but he was so damn touchy about everything. He was impossible to talk to.

Draco for his part was glad when she left. Anger coursed through him. And spite too. And though he didn't think on it too much, there was some admiration there as well. She took care of herself, that Weasley. She wasn't a whiner like her brother. Or a weakling for that matter. Draco left the classroom and went back to the Slytherin dungeon. He knew deep inside though, that they were at a stalemate...things just seemed to repeat.

Ginny had to take a minute in the common room to calm herself down. She wasn't sure why this had upset her so much, but it had. Once she felt relatively more at ease, she set about returning the cloak to the boys dormitory and to Harry's trunk. She succeeded, although there had been one heart-stopping moment when she had been leaving the dormitory. Ginny stepped down on a loose floorboard and it had emitted a creak as loud as a gun shot. She had frozen for what seemed like eternity, but no one had woken. Breathing a sigh of relief, Ginny escaped and went up to her own dormitory where she climbed into bed, pulling the covers over her head and nestling down beneath them. Tomorrow would be a better day. It was Hogsmeade.

A/N: Well I've hit a marking point: the big 2-0. I never thought that I'd keep the story going this long, but, well, I have. Keep the reviews coming. Even if you don't like the story, I appreciate hearing from you simply because it gives me suggestions and ideas. And obviously if you DO like the story, I want to hear from you:o)


	21. Chapter TwentyOne

**A/N: Time for the magical town of Hogsmeade. I must say, as I forgot to mention it before, I have some awfully sharp reviewers. It makes me feel good that the foreshadowing that I try to include doesn't get completely overlooked. :o) And thanks again so much for all the new reviews. They make me happy!**

Chapter 21

Harry was struggling. Trying to pull on a pair of trousers while still have his pajama bottoms underneath was tough. With an exasperated sigh, he yanked off the khaki trousers, took off his pajamas and tried again. Harry brushed hair out of his eyes. He'd overslept--his alarm clock had failed to go off, and the result of that was that he now had approximately ten minutes to get downstairs if he wanted to go into Hogsmeade. In fact, in reality he had even less time due to the fact that he wanted to catch Ginny before she went off with Dean.

"Damn these things," Harry grumbled, exasperatedly untwisting a pant leg.

"Harry?" Ron poked his head around the door and then laughed when he saw his friend, "What are you doing?"

"Trying to put my trousers on!"

"You're late. We're all about to leave. Ginny sent me back up here to see whether you were coming," Ron stepped into the room.

"Yeah, I'm coming. My alarm clock didn't go off," Harry said, and then looked questioningly at Ron, who, for some reason, had turned faintly pink.

"Oh...erm...well, you see, I got up early this morning and it was still dark, and well, er, I knocked your clock off the table...I didn't really think about it. Sorry," Ron looked a bit uncomfortable.

"Well don't worry about it now," Harry replied, buckling his belt and then grabbing a sweater out of his trunk as the air outside was quite crisp and chilly, "Let's go."

The two boys banged out of the portrait hole and practically hurled themselves down the main staircase into the hall, where most of the school was already assembled and looking slightly disgruntled as Filch was once again going over his list of forbidden items which had now grown to include some thousand things.

"Why does he _do_ that every time?" Ron muttered to Harry at the foot of the stairs.

"Dunno," Harry was peering around trying to spot Ginny.

"I mean, Fred and George aren't here anymore and they were the only ones he really ever had to worry about. They've got a giant file in his office..." Ron trailed off, seeing that Harry wasn't really paying attention, "Who are you looking for?"

"Your sister. I have to talk to her about meeting up in Hogsmeade."

Ron shook his head, "She won't do it, mate. She's got Dean."

"I _know_, but I think she'll find a way if I let her know that it's the only chance we've got to talk about all of this."

Ron looked skeptical, but seemed to want to humor is friend, "Right. Maybe."

"Harry!" Ginny suddenly appeared next to him, "Oh good. I thought I wasn't going to be able to find you, only Ron sticks up about a mile so I just went towards him."

Harry laughed, "Where's Dean?'

"Oh somewhere over there," Ginny waved nonchalantly, "I just wondered what the plan was."

"You're going to have to meet me and Ron somewhere. There's no other way."

"Yeah, all right," Ginny didn't seem too surprised, "I figured that that's what we'd have to do. Where should we meet?"

"Let's just go to The Three Broomsticks. It'll be packed and noisy anyway so no one will notice us."

"Ok," Ginny furrowed her brow, "When? I mean, I want to be able to spend time with Dean...it wouldn't be right to just blow him off."

"Course not," Ron said sarcastically, but Ginny ignored him.

"Well technically we can be in Hogsmeade all day, so why don't we just meet after lunch?"

"That's all right then. I'd better get back to Dean. I'll see you," Ginny gave a little wave and disappeared back into the crowd of students that was just beginning to move.

"Leave it to her to say that being with Dean is more important than helping us figure out how to help Hermione," Ron stared after his sister.

"She cares about Hermione too, mate," Harry looked at his friend, "And we'll get Hermione back."

"I hope so. I sure hope so," but Ron's voice was not very optimistic.

As the crowd of students entered Hogsmeade's gates, Harry felt someone grab his arm, "Harry! I need to talk to you."

Harry turned to see Lucy clinging to his arm with all her might, "Er...all right Lucy," his mind was working fast. It would be better to meet in a popular place simply because that way Ealia couldn't take over and try anything.

Ron looked between the two, a grin on his face, "I think I'm going to head over to Zonko's...they have some stuff I'm interested in," and with that Ron left Harry and Lucy alone in the street, surrounded by the voices of other happy students.

"So...er...shall we go to The Three Broomsticks?"

Lucy hesitated, "If you don't think anyone will overhear us..."

"They won't. It's so hectic in there, no one will be paying any attention to us at all," Harry said positively.

"All right then."

Harry felt much more at ease seated at a table with a bottle of butterbeer before him, "What's going on?"

"Well, I never got to finish talking to you," Lucy looked as though she'd rather not think about the event, "The...er...well, _she_ took over I think."

"Yeah," Harry said drily, "Yeah she did." but another thought was blooming in his mind. Ealia had said that she hadn't been keeping a close enough eye on Lucy and that she was going to have to start doing so...Harry didn't think that it had been an empty promise. So it currently presented a predicament: either Ealia was somehow not paying attention to Lucy at the moment or Ealia had gotten much sneakier about not being detected.

"I'm sorry," Lucy said softly.

"Don't worry about it. I'm fine."

"Good." There was a pause, during which both students felt a bit awkward

"Erm...there was something you didn't tell me before?" Harry prompted.

"Yeah. Well I started to. I just...I'm just afraid that I was the one who attacked Hermione."

"Yeah, I think you mentioned that before."

"Did I? I'm sorry...everything's kind of blurry from that conversation," Lucy rubbed a hand across her brow, "But you see, I have a vague memory of a bluish form hovering directly above me and then plunging into me," she paused, "It hurt so much. Then I remember sort of distantly hearing my voice say some sort of incantation or spell, there was a bunch of light, and then a thud. Maybe the whole thing was a dream? But I don't think so. It's too coincidental."

Harry was still. Everything she was saying made sense, and the fact that she had told him all of this, put to rest (at least mostly) his fears of Ealia being the one speaking, "Can you remember the spell?"

"No," Lucy shook her head miserably, "Oh Harry, I've been trying to remember but I just can't quite get it. It's hovering just on the edge of my mind but it's still out of reach. I feel awful."

"It's not your fault. You were possessed," Harry tried to reassure her.

"Yes, I know. But I just feel like I could've done something...anything...to prevent it. Why me?"

Harry had a rather good idea as why it was Lucy, however he kept that idea to himself, "Bad luck maybe. I know that doesn't help anything, but it isn't your fault. Don't blame yourself."

"Ron will blame me..." Lucy said softly.

Ron would. Lucy was right. Even though it wasn't the logical thing to do, Ron would do it anyway. Harry hadn't thought about that, "Well I won't tell Ron then."

"You won't?" Lucy raised her lovely blue eyes.

"No, I won't," Harry said firmly, "Listen, I ought to go catch up with Ron, come to think of it" then he remembered Hermione's advice about girls, he added, "You can...er...come along if you like."

"Thank you, but I think I'd rather stay here, actually. I'll see you around, Harry," Lucy gave a little smile, "Thanks for listening."

"Any time. Bye then," Harry waved and left The Three Broomsticks, meeting with cool autumn air as he went through the door.

Harry found Ron with Seamus Finnigan and Neville Longbottom in Zonko's, looking at a new sort of Dungbomb that you could program to go off multiple times.

"Harry!" Ron said excitedly, "Seamus, Neville, and I were thinking of getting some of these...they'd drive Filch mad, they would," Ron grinned, "He wouldn't know what to do, _and_ they're not on the forbidden items list yet."

Harry laughed in spite of himself. The vision of setting out dungbombs that would go off everytime Flich or Mrs. Norris went by, made the purchase very tempting, "Not a half bad idea, Ron."

"We could even catch Mrs. Norris and attach one to her collar...can you imagine/" Seamus snorted.

"Yeah. Well I think I'm going to get a box," Ron picked one up off the shelf and made his way through the crowd to the counter and Harry followed.

"We should probably go and try to meet up with Ginny now. It's almost one," Harry hissed to Ron as he was taking his bag from the man behind the counter.

"Yeah, all right. I'm starved anyway. Madam Rosmerta always has good things to eat," Ron agreed.

Harry and Ron made their way back to The Three Brommsticks, Harry feeling slightly silly due to the fact that he's just been there ten minutes previously. He rather hoped that Lucy would have left by now so that he wouldn't have to worry about avoiding her. However, luck was with him, it seemed, and Lucy was nowhere to be seen

"Hey Harry! Ron!" Ginny stood-up from a table tucked away in the far corner of the place.

"Hey, good. You...er...got away then?" Harry asked.

"Yeah. Dean didn't mind. We ate lunch at Madam Puddifoot's," Ginny shuddered, "Horrible place, that, but I dunno, we had a nice time. Dean said he understood that I had somewhere I had to be since he'd asked me to go with him kind of late. He figured I might have other plans," Ginny tilted her head thoughtfully, "Really understanding, actually."

"I bet," Ron didn't seem to be interested and instead fixed his eyes on Harry.

"Er...right," Harry looked between his two friends who were both looking at him intently, "I guess I ought to get started then."

"That'd be excellent," Ginny grinned.

Just then Ron's stomach gave a rather large growl, "Oh. I think I'll find something to eat...I'll be right back."

"Here," Harry dug into his pocket and brought out some change, "Get me something too, will you?"

"Yeah, all right," Ron wandered off towards the bar where Madam Rosmerta stood putting clean glasses back on the rack.

"I bet Ron couldn't wait to get over there," Ginny snorted, looking at her brother who stood talking to Rosmerta.

Harry laughed, feeling glad once again that he and Ginny were staying friends and nothing had gotten awkward since they'd decided that they weren't the best for one another in a relationship sense, "Yeah. Remember last term when he went to order a batch of butterbeers only he got so engrossed in talking to Madam Rosmerta that he forgot he was holding the tray she'd given him and dropped the lot?"

"Yes!" Ginny giggled.

"What's the joke, then?" Ron had appeared unnoticed balancing two roast beef sandwiches, three pumpkin pasties, and several bottles of butterbeer in his arms, "she wouldn't give me a tray," he grumbled. This made Harry and Ginny laugh even harder, which in turn made Ron scowl. He seemed to get over it, though, at the prospect of hearing Harry's discovery. Anything that would help Hermione out, whether he'd admit it or not, made Ron pleased.

"Got a lot to eat there, haven't you?" Ginny asked, looking pointedly at the pile in front of her brother.

"Well half of it's Harry's. Here you go, mate," Ron shoved a sandwich, a pasty, and a bottle of butterbeer at him. Harry took them gratefully and dug into the sandwich with gusto, "This is for you, Gin," Ron handed his sister a pasty and a bottle of butterbeer.

"Thanks, Ron. I guess you do have some good points after all," Ginny grinned at him.

"All right, Harry, we've waited long enough...tell us what you've found out!" Ron said impatiently.

Harry looked-up, his mouth full of roast beef. He fought to swallow it all and then took a swig of butterbeer to clear his throat, "I'm _eating_."

"Not now you aren't," Ginny said gleefully.

"Fine fine. I'll eat when I'm done talking. So impatient, the both of you," Harry feigned anger and then sobered, "So," he said, voice dropping a notch, "Lucy reckons--" then realizing he was about to break his promise to her, he switched mid-sentence, "Lucy's got a very interesting family situation, I'd say."

"Interesting? What do you mean?" Ginny had just taken a bite of her pasty.

"Try not to talk with your mouth full, Gin..." Ron wrinkled his nose.

"Sorry. You do it all the time. But Harry, what do you mean by interesting?"

"Well, she lives with her uncle--her mum died giving birth to her and no one knows who her dad is. Apparently this uncle of hers took her in as a favor to her mum who was his favorite sister but in actuality he doesn't like her, Lucy."

"She told you this?" Ron asked.

"Yeah. We had a long talk the other day," Harry didn't feel like explaining exactly where the long talk had gone.

"Go on," Ginny looked very interested.

"So she and her uncle live in this manor, I think she said, with house elves and everything, only her uncle's never home so she's all by herself with nobody but the elves," Harry paused, half-expecting to hear Hermione say something, but then remembered that she was the reason that they were all here.

"I don't see how this is helping us..." Ron shifted impatiently in his chair.

"Hang on, I'm getting there. It turns out that this summer she got really ill--no one knew what she had--for a couple of weeks, and during the worst bit _no one was allowed to see here except her uncle_," Harry waited for understanding to click with his friends but they didn't seem to get it. Well, Ginny seemed like she was getting somewhere, but Ron looked clueless, "Oh come on you two. It's fairly simple."

"Ohh," understanding suddenly dawned on Ginny's face, "During this summer you were getting visits from Ealia, and at least once she was actually a person and you think that maybe while Lucy was sick she was being used as a host for Ealia."

"Exactly," Harry smiled. Ginny looked pleased and Harry went on, "I think her uncle set it all up."

"But...why would her uncle do that? I mean I know you said that Lucy mentioned that her uncle doesn't like her, but I don't see..." Ron trailed off.

"There's more about her uncle. She told me that as far as she can tell, he's really awful, manipulative and cruel, that sort. She has no idea what he does when he's away from the house, but he's away from the house all the time and I think that he might--"

"Oh!" Ginny sat straight up in her seat as though she'd just remembered something, "A Death Eater!"

"I...well, yeah that's what I was going to say, but how...?" Harry looked at Ginny with some confusion.

Ginny blushed, "Oh, erm, I heard that Death Eaters are away from their families a lot..." or at least one Death Eater was away from his family a lot, anyway, Ginny added in her head.

"Oh. But yeah, I think that too. I'd be willing to bet that Lucy's uncle is Death Eater and I bet since he's never cared about her he volunteered to use her for Ealia, like that," Harry snapped his fingers.

"Who's her uncle?" Ron asked suddenly.

"That's the thing, I don't know," Harry shook his head.

"Yeah, we should find that out," Ginny said.

"Yeah it's probably important," Ron added, "I mean, because if it's someone we know it would be kind of helpful."

"I hadn't thought of that. Good job, Ron," Harry grinned, "Well I can try to talk to her. I dunno if she'll want to tell me though--she seemed to want to avoid it."

"I could always try. Sometimes girl talk is more effective," Ginny smiled slyly.

"If you can get his name out of her, then I'm for it," Harry said, "What about you, Ron?"

"Yeah, definitely," Ron nodded emphatically, "Anything to get Hermione fixed."

"We know, Ron," Ginny laughed.

"Look, I think Lucy might have already headed back to the castle. Let's go ahead and go back and then Ginny, you can go try to talk to her," Harry suggested, feeling that the sooner they got through this particular puzzle the safer things would be for everyone.

"Ok."

Their chairs scraped the floor as the three stood-up and made their way out into the street. The walk back to the castle was nice. It was almost possible to forget what was going on, Harry thought. Nothing happened on the return walk unless you count their passing Malfoy and him looking at Ginny with an intense gaze, but nothing happened. Ginny simply ignored him and no words were exchanged. Harry took note of it though.

Once back in front of the Fat Lady's portrait, Ginny spoke, "I'll go up first and try to find Lucy, you two go to the library or the kitchen or something. Just don't come up for a bit. You might make her nervous."

"Thanks a lot Gin," Ron shot his sister an annoyed glance.

"No, that makes sense. Come on, let's go. I wanna do something with those dungbombs."

At this, Ron cheered up substantially and went off with Harry. Ginny, left on her own, made her way up through the portrait hole. Then all was quiet and the hall deserted.

**A/N: Whew. That was a lot longer than I'd originally planned on it being, but hey, I doubt you guys are complaining... :o) It might be a bit before I update again because I'm a procrastinator and I still have summer homework to do...bleh. But I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can.**


	22. Chapter TwentyTwo

**A/N: AHH! Sorry guys...school and other work got the best of me (as well as Hurricane Katrina pounding New Orleans and other Gulf States into a pulp--I have a friend down there who I haven't heard from)...so I slacked off with my writing. Bah. Anyway, here's the next chapter.**

Chapter 22

Ginny was pleased to see Lucy curled up by herself in an armchair near the fire. It would make talking to her that much easier. Most of the other students were still in Hogsmeade, so Ginny figured that she had at least an hour to talk to Lucy.

"Hi," Ginny said, walking over to join Lucy.

Lucy jumped slightly, turning quickly to see who had spoken, "Oh hi, Ginny," she smiled ruefully, "You startled me."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to. You looked like you were deep in thought."

"Yeah," Lucy's eyes took on a faraway expression, "Yeah I was."

"Anything you want to talk about?" Ginny nestled down into the chair across from Lucy's.

"A lot of stuff, really," Lucy admitted, "But I don't know if I can talk about it. It's so personal."

Ginny nodded. She knew that getting the information out of Lucy wouldn't be easy, but she could wait, "That's ok. I understand. There are just some things that are better left unsaid. At least for awhile, anyway," Ginny made as though to get up, "You can always talk to me though, if you want to."

"Thanks," Lucy nodded, looking down, but then her gaze shot up again at seeing Ginny rising from her chair, "Wait."

Ginny paused, hardly daring to let herself think that Lucy was about to talk, "Hmm?"

"I know I can trust you, Ginny, and I really do need to talk to someone. I mean, Harry's always around, but somehow I don't think that talking to a boy is quite the same..."

Ginny filed that comment away to tell Ron, "No. No it isn't," Ginny lowered herself once more into the chair, waiting to hear what would come next.

"It's my home life that's bothering me. I hadn't thought too much about it until my conversation with Harry," Lucy met Ginny's eyes, "I assume he's told you about it?"

Ginny debated whether or not to tell the truth, but she fell back to the old standby--honesty is the best policy, "Yes, he did."

"Yes. Well he made me start thinking about all kinds of things, especially about my uncle. He's such a mystery. Sometimes he's around and sometimes he's not. Like I told Harry, I don't even know what he does. Whatever it is, it gives him plenty of money and I've never really wanted for anything, but..." Lucy trailed off.

"You don't like him?" Ginny prompted.

"No," Lucy shook her head decidedly, "I don't at all. He strikes me as such a cruel, harsh man. He's never done anything to me, nothing violent anyway, but he has such an awful temper..." here Lucy shuddered visibly, "Sometimes he'll get letters and they'll put him into such a rage. It's usually during those times that he disappears. He disappears other times as well, but he's nearly always gone when he's angry."

The same idea that had flowered in Harry's mind when he heard Lucy's experiences was taking root in Ginny's. There were too many parallels...but yet, it seemed so unlikely... "What's his name?" Ginny took a chance. She knew that in all likelihood Lucy would clam up and refuse to talk anymore, "Maybe I've heard about him from my dad since my dad works at the ministry."

Lucy paused a moment, but then seemed to decide to spill, "Oliveri Culebra."

Ginny frowned. The name was wholly unfamiliar. She was positive her father hadn't ever mentioned it before.

Lucy noticed Ginny's expression, "Don't know of him?"

"No...it's odd..I know, or I thought I knew, nearly all of the wizard surnames. Dad knows them all, you see, and he often talks about them. Oliveri Culebra..." Ginny sensed that the mere fact that she couldn't place the name was significant. There were certainly such things as wizards in hiding using pseudonyms that couldn't be traced to them. There was also the chance that Culebra wasn't part of an old wizarding family, but the name itself sounded quite old, "Is he part of an old family?" Ginny finally asked.

"Oh yes," Lucy said at once, "He says he is anyway, and he's not a fan of any wizard that isn't a pure-blood, whether they be a half-blood or a muggle-born. I've never seen a family tree, but I do believe him."

"Yes. Yeah, I don't have any reason to doubt him," then struck on a second whim, Ginny added, "Is he English? If he's from another country that would explain why I don't recognize the name." This was turning out to be more of a puzzle than Ginny had thought that it would be.

"No, he's English. There's no doubt about that. He looks rather like me. I suppose he and my mother must have been very similar--same blonde hair, blue eyes, but rather icy looking. I'm warmer I think."

Ginny's heart skipped a beat. She still didn't believe that it was possible, but more and more it was beginning to look as though it were, and if it were... Things began to click into place, but Ginny knew that she couldn't just make assumptions. She'd have to do a lot more research before acting on her idea.

Lucy continued talking, unaware that Ginny had fallen into thought, "He came to Hogwarts too, you know."

"Oh?" Ginny roused herself.

"Yeah. He was in Slytherin. I think the fact that I've been put into Gryffindor adds to his dislike of me."

Ginny felt a tingle run up her spine, but she didn't let it show, "Yeah, I'd imagine that it would. Gryffindor and Slytherin have never been the best of friends."

"No. That's what I've heard."

"Did you find out your house before coming to school then?' Ginny asked curiously, wondering when Lucy would have been around her uncle after having been sorted.

"Yes. Dumbledore came to the manor with the sorting hat in hand. He said that there was no need for me to sit through the sorting ceremony with the first years when it was just as easy for him to stop by on his way to restock his supply of lemon drops."

Ginny grinned at this mention of Dumbledore, "Ah. Well that makes sense then."

"What does?"

"I was trying to figure out how you'd come into contact with your uncle after having been sorted into Gryffindor after you'd arrived, but now I see that you were sorted beforehand. Yeah, that must have been a bit awkward."

"Yes, it was. He was furious. I think he'd assumed I'd be sorted into Slytherin like the rest of the family. Oh he didn't explode or anything like that, he just became extraordinarily short with me as well as cold and distant. He'd never been what you could call kind to me, but things definitely got worse."

"I'm sorry," Ginny said, feeling compassion for the lost girl in front of her.

"Don't worry about it," Lucy began, but stopped as footsteps sounded on the stairs leading up from the portrait hole.

"That was bloody brilliant!" Dean's voice crowed.

"Never seen anything like it!" Seamus added.

"Excellent Harry, really excellent," Ron was laughing as the four boys came into view.

Ginny popped her head over the back of her chair, startling them all. "Oops, sorry Gin, did we interrupt you?" Ron asked.

"No, not at all. What'd Harry do?" Ginny looked at the group of boys curiously, thinking that whatever it was, it probably had something to do with the dungbombs.

The grin returned to her brother's face, "Well we snuck along 'til we saw Filch coming along a corridor and then Harry managed to get in front of him and hide a few of the dungbombs inside suits of armor," Ron began laughing again, "You should have seen his face as he went by and they started going off one by one, 'poof! poof! poof'. It was amazing."

"Did you use them _all?_" Ginny asked, somewhat incredulously.

"No, er..." Harry spoke up, "We...er..gave the rest to Peeves."

"You didn't!" Ginny was horrified but laughed in spite of herself. It seemed that Fred and George's old role was being taken over. Her brothers would be pleased.

"Did," Seamus nodded.

"Bowed us all the way down the hall, he did," Dean grinned broadly.

"Yeah, makes me shudder to think what he'll do with them..." Ron added, "but not enough to regret giving them to him," he smirked.

"As long as he doesn't do anything with them while I'm around, I don't care," Lucy's head followed Ginny's head's lead and popped up over the seat Lucy sat in.

"Lucy!" Harry said, startled, and Ginny could tell from the movement of his eyes that he had worked out what Ginny had been doing.

"Hi Harry. So pleased that we have a troublemaker in our midst," Lucy said playfully.

"Er...yeah," Harry shoved his hands into his pocket and grinned.

"Listen, we just came up here to change our clothes...clear away the evidence, if you know what I mean. The smell kind of clings," Ron wrinkled his nose, "We'll see you two at dinner." And with that the boys disappeared into the boys' dormitory.

Once they were alone again, Lucy smiled at Ginny, "I ought to go get ready for dinner too," she gestured to her feet, which wore slippers, "Don't want to wear _these_ down."

"Ok," Ginny replied amiably, feeling contented about her recent acquisition of information.

"And Ginny?" Lucy had turned around at the foot of the stairs.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for listening."

"Oh no problem. Anytime Lucy." Lucy disappeared and Ginny found herself alone in the common room. She rubbed her face. Well one thing was crystal clear. She needed to find Malfoy, and she needed to find him soon. Ginny had the feeling that talking to him just might help things along... This, of course, meant that she needed to make another nighttime visit to the potion. It was high time for that anyway, Ginny realized, so she shouldn't have any trouble getting the invisibility cloak away from Harry--legitimately this time. Malfoy seemed to always be out after hours. He'd be easy to stumble across.

Ginny was still possessed by these thoughts when she ran smack into someone. "Watch where you're going-- Oh. It's a Weasley. I forgot. Your father can't afford to pay for glasses...maybe you should get a cane, that way you wouldn't run into people," Malfoy drawled, making a great show out of brushing himself off where Ginny had bumped.

Ginny fumed, but knew that she'd have to be relatively civil if she wanted to get anything out of Malfoy that night, "Oh I beg your _pardon_, Malfoy," she said in an exaggeratedly apologetic tone of voice, and then turned away to enter the great hall. Still, Ginny couldn't resist "accidently" trodding rather hard on the foot that Malfoy had thrust out in front of him to steady himself from the collision, and taking pleasure in the muffled oaths that met her ears as she left the boy behind.

**A/N: Ok, ok. I know it's not extremely long...it meets my minimum requirement of five pages and that's it, but I am trying to keep the story moving along...it's hard with so much else going on. I know you guys understand. Besides, I gather that you're all rather busy yourselves--in my 2 (or is it 3?) week-long hiatus I've only gotten two reviews--so I don't feel _too_ bad... Anyway, at least one of you has begun to pick up on something that's going on; are the rest of you seeing it too:o)**


	23. Chapter TwentyThree

**A/N: And I'm back again! Senior yeara pain in the you know where. Whatever happened to it being the fun, carefree year? That's what I'd like to know...hmmph. Anyway, there's a bit of...contact in this chapter. I'm sure many of you will be pleased. ;o)**

Chapter 23

It was a little before one in the morning when Ginny climbed quietly through the portrait hole and out into the darkened, deserted corridor. She had had no trouble getting the invisibility cloak from Harry. In fact, he'd been extremely pleased that Ginny had volunteered to check on the potion that evening because neither he nor Ron had completed Professor Binn's History of Magic essay.

"Good thing they're both procrastinators," Ginny mumbled to herself. It was to her benefit that Ron had his homework on his mind--it didn't give him the chance to be suspicious about Ginny going out yet again.

She had nearly reached Myrtle's bathroom when a faint rustling noise met her ears. Instinctively, Ginny flattened herself against the stone wall and held her breath, her ears straining for further noise. There it was again. This time Ginny could pinpoint its source. Taking care to tread softly, Ginny made her way to the open classroom before her and peeped in. Of course, even before she saw him, Ginny knew exactly who was in the room.

Draco Malfoy sat behind one of the desks, head bent low over a piece of parchment upon which he was furiously scribbling. His wand lay next to him, its tip lit up, in order to provide him with some light. Every once in awhile, a pale hand came up to irritably shove strands of blonde hair out of his face. He was not doing homework--that would be much more easily (and comfortably) done in the Slytherin common room--no, he was trying to write a letter. It irked him that he, Draco Malfoy, prince of the Slytherins, had to hole himself up in a dirty, unused classroom to get things done, but there was no way around it.

Ginny stood watching him for a moment longer, thinking he looked more vulnerable than usual, before stepping boldly into the room. So far, she remained undetected. In fact, she never would have been detected if it had not been for her foot catching on the leg of a desk. Ginny managed to catch herself and kept from tumbling over. The desk, however, toppled to the floor with a particularly loud bang.

Malfoy sprang to his feet, holding his wand before him, his heart racing in spite of itself. "Who's there?" Draco whispered urgently, not daring to raise his voice in case Filch appeared on the scene.

Ginny sighed. There was no use hiding now. "Me," she responded simply, pulling the cloak off.

Anger should have been Draco's first reaction, and it surprised him as much as Ginny when it did not rear its head. "Oh. What do you want?" He lowered his wand.

Ginny raised an eyebrow, feeling suspicion wash over her. "Is this some trap?" she asked, "Where are the accusations and the shouting?"

"I'm too tired tonight, Weasley. There's too much going on," Malfoy leaned against his desk. What was wrong with him? The littlest weasel had never failed to make him angry. Maybe now that his father had revealed...well...just that there were bigger things on the table, he didn't find Ginny Weasley so insufferable. Had he _ever_ found her to be truly insufferable? Draco hurriedly pushed that thought out of his mind.

"Hmm. Must be something big if you can't even come up with a rude remark about my family." Ginny felt thoroughly out of her element. She was not used to dealing with a civil Draco Malfoy, and it made her very unsure as to how exactly to proceed. Ginny also realized that she felt manipulated...could this all be an act?

"What do you _want_?" Draco asked again.

"I have some questions about Lucy," Ginny watched the boy before her very closely.

Draco felt his hand tighten convulsively around his wand, but the rest of him stayed stoney. His father would have been proud. "What about her?" he said in a careless manner.

"What's your family got to do with her?" Ginny knew she was making some rather large assumptions, but they needed to be made in order to get to the bottom of what was going on at Hogwarts.

"Nothing that I can think of," Malfoy crossed his arms, mostly to muffle the sound of his heart, which sounded very loud to him indeed. Surely Weasley was bluffing.

"Hmm." Ginny narrowed her eyes at him. It was clear to her that he was hiding something. She'd learned a thing or two about liars after living in such a large family. "I don't believe you."

"Fine," Malfoy said shortly, the edge of his temper becoming visible for a moment.

"Well, I just thought I'd ask," Ginny said. But instead of leaving, she took a step towards him. "What's bothering you?"

Draco stepped forward too, narrowing the gap between them. "Lots of things," he muttered, stopping himself from adding, "Things you wouldn't understand." Suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, Draco found he did not want to offend the girl standing in front of him.

"Sorry to hear that," and without knowing what she was doing, Ginny raised a hand and pushed some of Malfoy's hair out of his face. Time seemed to stop as both parties realized what had just happened. Ginny's heart thumped and Malfoy uncomfortably realized that he'd felt a tingle at the touch of her hand. Then, before he could think any more about it, Ginny had moved closer.

Ginny found herself looking, really looking, for the first time at Draco Malfoy's face. His eyes were still grey and cold, but now there seemed to be, just maybe, a spark lying immediately beneath their surface. Her gaze traveled. His lips. They were soft and inviting looking, strange for such an icy boy. Suddenly Ginny knew that more than anything at that moment, she wanted those lips on hers. She forgot about everything else and everyone else as the wanting took her over. Then, in one bold, swift move, she brought her lips to his.

Draco felt his breath catch in his throat at the contact. He, too, realized he wanted this, and suddenly his nerves were on fire. Draco lowered his head and deepened the kiss, Ginny's mouth opening in response, her eyes closed. Without really knowing what he was doing, Draco pushed Ginny against the classroom wall, his body flush with hers, warmth spilling between them.

Draco's sudden weight pushed air from Ginny's lungs in the brief moment her and Draco's mouths were not joined. Then his mouth returned and Ginny reveled in feeling his body against hers, hers pushing back against his. Draco's hand trailed down her side, stopping finally to cup her breast, thumb tracing circles over it. Ginny felt her stomach give a slight jump, her body tingling deliciously at his touch. She raised a hand, fingers trailing through Malfoy's hair, and let herself fall into the moment.

In all of his experiences (and there certainly were a lot of them), Draco had never experienced anything like this. Ginny was delicate in his arms, soft and yielding, her head thrown back against the wall, exposing a bare expanse of creamy neck. It was upon kissing her neck that Ginny moaned ever so slightly and that the pressure of her body against his grew stronger. Now it felt to Draco as though everything were on fire. He was, she was, the room around them was. Nothing else existed besides an all-consuming passion.

Ginny felt as though she could just let go, give in, surrender. Nothing would be easier. But then, quite unwelcome, an image of a furious Ron flashed across her mind. Ginny's eyes flew open and she carefully extricated herself from Malfoy's arms. "I think we ought to stop." A blush crept over Ginny's face as she realized how awkward the situation would eventually become.

Hurriedly covering up his initial disappointment, Malfoy sat back down in his chair, "All right." He did not want to let on how much Ginny had affected him.

"I'm sorry. I...shouldn't have." Ginny wasn't entirely sure exactly how to behave.

Draco met Ginny's brown eyes, but said nothing and shrugged.

Ginny felt the moment slip away from them, and barriers grew up once again. "I'm going now," she picked up Harry's cloak, "If you ever want to tell me about your father and Lucy's place in his family, just let me know." Ginny grinned in spite of herself, and then threw the cloak over her head.

Draco stared at the spot where Ginny had just been, mouth opened slightly. There was no doubt about it. She definitely seemed to know. And if she knew... His father would have to be told. Ginny's knowledge was too dangerous. Draco knew his father would "take care" of her. But even as he thought this, Draco couldn't help but remember the happenings of just a few moment earlier... He picked up his quill.

_Father, _(Draco wrote)

_Your plan is not revealed. It is possible to continue as you wished, however..._

Ginny left the classroom purposefully, but once out of Malfoy's sight-line (though she _was_ wearing the invisibility cloak), she leaned against the cool stone of the passageway's walls and took in a succession of deep gulps of air, trying to dissipate the dizzy, muddled feeling in her brain. Once the haze had cleared, the enormity of what had just passed hit Ginny in the gut like a sucker punch. She had to sit down.

"What I have _done?_" She cradled her head in her hands. With any other boy this sort of thing would be all right. Well, as all right as nearly jumping on the boy at one in the morning in a deserted classroom could be. But _Malfoy?_ Oh Merlin... If any word of this got out, Ginny was dead, and she knew it. She could already envision the looks of horror and disgust mingling with disappointment on the faces of her family members. Besides, she didn't even know how _she_ felt about Draco Malfoy. Up until she had succumbed to the urge to kiss him, she had hated him.

"Oh, _damn_," Ginny said with some force. Then another fact hit her, one she already knew, but which seemed much larger now that the fuzzy feeling had worn off. She had not actually gotten any information about Lucy out of Malfoy. That meant she'd have to find some way of confirming (or disproving) her hypothesis. The idea of trying to corner him again made Ginny blush. It was bad enough that she'd still be sitting next to him in Potions. _That_ would be awkward.

Ginny stood up. She still needed to check on the potion, though in all honesty, Ginny didn't feel that it would be all that useful to her anymore, considering Lucy/Ealia had essentially confessed to attacking Hermione. The only reason now that it would come in handy would be if Ginny could remember the spell used to remove Hermione's soul.

It was nearly three o'clock when Ginny reentered the Gryffindor common room. It had taken much longer than she had thought it would to work on the potion. The book had stated a number of different steps that had to be completed if the potion were ever to mature. Now, if she were lucky, she'd get about four hours of sleep. Stumbling into the girls' dormitory, Ginny undressed and collapsed into bed, not entirely sure how she should feel about the night's events.

Down in the common room, two heads poked up from behind two different armchairs. "She was gone a long time." The voice came from the head to the left, a head that the moonlight streaming through the window showed to be red.

"Yeah...shouldn't take so long to check on a potion..." the second voice, belonging to the darker of the two heads, was thoughtful.

**A/N: And so ends chapter 23. I hope you guys liked it...I thought it was time to have _some_ sort of exchange between the blonde and the redhead, but at the same time, this chapter definitely made some steps forward... I have the feeling that this story is going to be a long one, so be forewarned. And thanks to you, oh wonderful readers, for being so patient and putting up with my erratic updates. I appreciate it. :o)**


	24. Chapter TwentyFour

**A/N: Can you, my readers, ever forgive me for being so incredibly lax with my updates? How many of you thought that I'd abandoned the story? If I'd been in our places, I'd have thought the story'd been abandoned. However, happily for you, it has not. I have only been buckling under the intense strain of a too-hard calculus class and a million and one college applications. Anyway, here is the next chapter!**

Chapter 24

Harry left the Gryffindor common room feeling decidedly tired and bleary-eyed. He should never have let Ron talk him into staying up to all hours to wait for Ginny, but then again, considering how things had turned out last night, Ginny definitely seemed to be up to something.

As he approached the Great Hall, Harry passed Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle clustered together in a tight knot, muttering about something. Curiosity getting the best of him, Harry tried to inch nonchalantly in their direction so that he would pass directly next to them upon entering the Great Hall.

"So then I seduced her," Malfoy was saying, "to make her forget what she was asking." Crabbe and Goyle sniggered stupidly, and as far as Harry was concerned, Malfoy looked all-together too pleased with himself.

Of course, it could be _any_ girl that Malfoy was talking about, Harry told himself as he slid into his seat. But then why did he have such a bad feeling in his gut? Things fit together too well, and he didn't like it. Ron's arrival didn't help.

"Harry, what do you suppose she's up to?" were the first words out of Ron's mouth as he joined his friend and reached for toast.

"Good morning to you too," Harry mumbled, his mouth full.

"Sorry mate. It's just I don't like this."

"What else is new?" grumbled Harry.

"Who's side are you on, anyway?" Ron's ears grew pink.

Harry sighed, "Well, when it comes to Ginny I'm usually more on her side, but now..." Harry trailed off for a moment, eyes lingering on Malfoy who looked up and sneered in a most Malfoy-like manner, "I heard something this morning that's put me on edge a bit."

"What?" But before Harry could reply, Ginny entered the Great Hall and Harry motioned to Ron not to say anything.

"Morning Gin," Harry said, patting the seat next to him.

"Hi." There was a definite note of glumness in the girl's voice.

"What's up? You sound like there's something wrong."

"Oh. No. I just had a late night last night. Didn't get enough sleep." Ginny helped herself from a plate of kippers. Harry thought that she was making a conscious effort to avoid both his and Ron's eyes. Ron poked him in the side.

Deciding it would be better to just come out with it, Harry looked at Ginny. "Yeah, we noticed."

Ginny gave a start. "You what?"

"We noticed you got back late," Ron jumped into the conversation.

"Now I'm being _shadowed_ by you two?" Ginny put down her fork and crossed her arms.

"No. Harry and I were just up late in the common room. We were there when you came back."

"We were just worried about you. Did something happen?" Harry tried to hold Ginny's eyes, which flashed, first at him and then at Ron.

"No! And I don't need you--either of you--to worry about me. I'm sick of being handled with kid gloves. I'm not a baby." Ginny shoved away her mostly untouched plate and got up from the table. "By the way, the potion's almost done. Hopefully when I take it I'll remember the spell used on Hermione, and Madam Pomfrey will fix her up," Ginny's eyes softened for a moment as she glanced at her brother, "And I know we all want her back." Then she hurried off and disappeared through the doors of the Great Hall.

"What is _with_ her?" Ron gaped after his sister, shaking his head.

"We probably won't ever know," Harry shrugged, "I don't think she's about to tell us."

Ron wrinkled his forehead. "What was it you were about to tell me when Ginny showed up?"

At first Harry couldn't remember, but then Malfoy's conversation came back to him, and in hushed tones, Harry told Ron what he had heard.

Ron flushed a deep red. "Do you suppose...?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"I don't know. It just struck me as suspicious." And really coincidental, Harry added to himself.

"Yeah. And I wouldn't put it beyond Malfoy. And it would explain why Ginny's acting so weird." Ron was grasping his goblet of pumpkin juice extremely tightly.

Harry privately wondered whether Ginny had been trying to question Malfoy about Lucy's uncle. "Yeah. Yeah it would. Listen, er, which classes have we got today?"

Ron reached into his bag and pulled out a dog-eared schedule. "Transfiguration and Potions."

"Well at least we don't have to worry about Snape until after lunch."

"Yeah...but McGonagall..." Ron looked worried. "It's been hard since Hermione's been gone. Half the time I end-up accidentally shooting whatever it is we're supposed to be transfiguring across the room."

Harry snorted, remembering the last class when Professor McGonagall had handed out armadillos and told the class to change them into flower pots. Ron's armadillo, with a bright yellow daisy poking out of each ear had flown across the room and hit Seamus on the back of the head, nearly knocking him out of his seat. "Well, look at it this way. At least now you're really getting to practice stuff on your own."

"Yeah. And I'm getting some good practice with getting "Ds" on assignments too. Mum'll be really pleased. I'm sure she'll start comparing me to Percy again." Ron wrinkled his nose. "As if I'd want to get into the cauldron bottom business."

Harry grinned, "Well let's go. Maybe she'll give us something easier to work with today."

McGonagall did _not_ give them anything easier to work with. Instead, she gave each student a small brass telescope and told them to change the telescopes into flamingos. Harry irritably wiped his hair out of his eyes. He'd been trying to transfigure his telescope for the past half an hour and the closest he'd gotten was having it grow legs and totter about the desk. Next to him, Ron wasn't fairing much better: _his_ telescope had simply grown a beak and was now squawking incessantly.

Part of Harry's problem was that he found himself being distracted by Lucy, who sat across the aisle from him. She looked obviously upset about something, and had not even attempted to transfigure her telescope, which was odd considering she was usually a zealous student. After checking to make sure that McGonagall wasn't nearby--she was across the room helping Lavender Brown--Harry leaned towards Lucy.

"Are you all right?"

Lucy gave a visible start. "Yes, I--no. No, I'm not." Harry was horrified to see her blue eyes fill up with tears.

"Er...what happened?"

"My uncle," Lucy said in a hushed voice, "he's dreadfully angry, and I..oh Harry, I'm scared."

Harry turned all of his attention to Lucy, feeling an electrical shock run through him, "What did he do?"

"Nothing...yet. But his last letter...he was angry. So angry with me. I don't know what I've done." The blonde girl seemed to be fighting to keep the tears in her eyes from spilling over.

"Has he done things before?" Harry asked cautiously, not wanting to upset Lucy still further, but feeling that for her to be this scared, there must have been something that had happened before.

"He's a cruel person, Harry. He is not a nice man." Harry waited, but Lucy said no more.

A shadow fell over Harry and he looked up to see McGonagall's severe face looking down at him, "Where is your flamingo, Potter?"

Harry gestured glumly at the telescope which was still tottering about on long, skinny flamingo legs.

Professor McGonagall shook her head. "That is certainly not good enough for you to be spending my class time talking with friends. Keep working." She swept back to the front of the room where she could keep an eye on her students.

Making sure that Professor McGonagall was not still looking in his direction, Harry whispered to Lucy, "What is he angry about?"

"That's the worst bit. He won't tell me. He keeps saying that I've failed him...oh I don't know." Lucy swiped the back of her hand under her eyes.

Harry took a deep breath. He suddenly felt that he needed to tell Lucy his hunch about her uncle and about Ealia. Somehow he thought that if she knew, things would start to correctly fall into place again. It would be risky, of course. Harry didn't know whether Ealia was ever privy to Lucy's thoughts, but it was a risk he'd have to take. "Listen, Lucy, there's something I've got to talk to you about. It's something important."

"About what?"

"Your uncle."

Lucy started slightly. "I--I don't know if I want to know."

"It doesn't matter. You _need_ to know," Harry stated firmly. He would have said more, but Ron hissed at him and gestured in McGonagall's direction, and Harry fell silent as their professor's severe eyes scanned the classroom.

"I don't ever want to see a telescope again," complained Ron as the boys left McGonagall's classroom some time later. "I'm hopeless without Hermione."

Harry agreed, then added, "Well, if what Ginny says about the potion is true, then we might have her back with us soon."

"Yeah." Ron paused. "What's going on with Lucy?"

"I've got to talk with her about her uncle, that's all." Harry felt bad about not explaining everything to Ron, but he thought secrecy on the matter was important.

"Oh." Ron looked somewhat puzzled, but didn't press the matter.

Harry caught sight of Lucy walking ahead of them and glanced at Ron who nodded. "Good luck, mate."

"Yeah, thanks."

Lucy stopped as Harry overtook her. Harry adjusted his glasses and looked down at her. "Lucy, do you know who your uncle is?"

Lucy frowned. "I assume you mean that he's someone other than who he's claimed to be..."

"Yes..." Harry quickly looked around and then lowered his voice, "We--Ginny and I--don't know for sure, but we think your uncle is Lucius Malfoy."

"But I...how...he..." Lucy was at a loss for words. "If that's true then...Draco Malfoy is my cousin."

Harry nodded. "Yes. But that's not really the problem. What is the problem is that Lucius Malfoy is using you...you're connected to Ealia, you know, the spirit that attacked Hermione."

"Oh," she breathed, sagging against the wall, "Oh Merlin. What have I done?"

**A/N: And that, friends, concludes this chapter... You'll have to hold out for the next. However, I promise that I'm not about to abandon the story. :o)**


	25. Chapter TwentyFive

**A/N: Ok, so we'll see how quickly I get this chapter up. I'll have you know that I'm starting it the day after I published chapter 24. However, it may easily take me a month to complete it...urgh. But anyway, enjoy!**

Chapter 25

"'What have I done?'" Ginny asked, "Why would Lucy say that?" Ginny looked inquiringly at Harry. Lucy had already known, or at least suspected, that she was behind the attack on Hermione. Ginny didn't understand why Harry's information should have come as such a surprise.

"I dunno," Harry shrugged, ruffling his hair and then reaching for a sandwich off of the platter in front of him. "Maybe she just meant it in a figurative sense. You know, sort of like 'What have I done to deserve this?' Like that."

"Maybe..." Ginny tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Besides the really obvious times, we don't actually know when Ealia's been in control and when Lucy's been in control, do we?"

"No." Harry raised an eyebrow.

Ginny realized that she was going to have to explain and put down her fork. "Well, what if it was Ealia in control during those times when Lucy talked about thinking she'd been responsible?"

"That's possible," Harry said slowly.

"Yeah, it is. And if that's true, then Ealia could just have been trying to see how much we knew or suspected."

"It would also mean that Lucy had no idea about all of this, which means that the information I gave her this morning came as a really nasty shock..."

"Oh. You're right, of course. I suppose we ought to find her later and try to explain it all to her...but we're going to have to be really careful that it's Lucy and not Ealia we're talking to... Where's Ron?" Ginny was suddenly aware of her brother's absence.

"I'm not sure, actually." Harry peered around the hall. "He went off when I started talking to Lucy."

Ginny followed Harry's lead and also looked about the hall. She noted that Malfoy, too, was absent. Just as that thought entered her mind, a great shout came from beyond the hall's entrance.

"Take your bloody hands off of me!"

Ginny and Harry exchanged a glance that showed them to be thinking the same thing, and sprinted towards the open double-doors. When they reached the corridor, they saw Ron backed up to the wall, Malfoy's hands about his throat.

"Let go of my brother," Ginny walked towards Malfoy, her voice cool and sharp. To both Harry and Ron's surprise as well as to her own, Draco Malfoy instantly complied, stepping away from Ron and making a great show of wiping his hands on his robes. Then, with an icy stare at the three of them, Malfoy spat on the floor and swept away from them, leaving behind a blob of wetness on the stone.

Harry frowned after him, his hand tight about his wand. "Would've thought he'd have liked to fight."

Trying to keep her voice normal, Ginny shrugged, "I guess he had something more important to attend to."

Ron shook his head. "Slimey git. I can't decide who I hate more--him or Snape."

"What were you fighting about, then?" Ginny asked. Ron said nothing, but Ginny didn't miss the look he shot at Harry, thus confirming her idea that the subject of the fight was her. Fighting annoyance, Ginny looked at the two boys. "I can gather the answer from your silence. Anyway, I've got to finish up some potions stuff. I'll see you."

Several minutes later, Ginny was first to enter the potions dungeon. Making her way to her seat, she unpacked her bag and put her head down on the cold table-top. That way she'd be able to avoid looking at Malfoy when he came in. Malfoy. Ginny clenched her jaw and felt her cheeks grow warm. Everything would be so much easier if she hadn't been such a fool the night before. Now how would she manage to get any information out of the boy? Even worse, she'd as good as told Malfoy that she knew what his father was up to, and if Malfoy's character hadn't changed any, dear old dad was likely to know the situation by now.

Draco entered the classroom next. He too had been hoping to be first. Unfortunately, the sight of a lowered red head stopped him in his tracks. He _really_ did not want to see her, not after having just been in a fight with her brother, and _especially_ not after the events of the previous night. If she were any other sort of girl, she would have avoided the lesson, but oh no, not Ginny Weasley. No, she was sitting there in her seat as present as she ever was. As Malfoys did not run away, Draco finally decided that there was nothing to do but to go and sit down in his seat. He did so, and to avoid looking at Ginny he hurriedly busied himself with testing which new quill would be the best to take notes with that class.

"Maybe if you spent less time being vain about your quills you'd get more notes down in class." Ginny had raised her head and was looking at Malfoy with a glint in her eye that looked strangely like laughter.

Draco's back stiffened. He wasn't sure how to react; people did not normally poke fun at him. In an uncharacteristic move, Draco decided to say nothing, but he did stop fiddling with his quills, quickly deciding on a long, black plume.

"What? No retort?" Ginny had decided that the best way to handle the situation was to throw all caution to the wind and try to interact with the blonde boy rather than awkwardly avoiding him. At leas this way, she figured, she'd have a leg up on him. So far, her conjecture appeared to be correct. Malfoy was not behaving in a Malfoy-like manner.

Frustration, caused by a hundred different things, suddenly surged through Draco, and he snapped at Ginny, feeling oddly guilty as he did so, "I wouldn't be so flippant if I were you. In case you've forgotten, I know what you're up to..."

"What are you saying?" Ginny tossed back.

"Just that you might want to...watch yourself." Having said this, Draco turned back to his open potions book and pretended for a moment to be immersed in a potion for removing warts until he realized the nature of the potion.

Malfoy's remarks had caught Ginny up short. Part of her was pleased: if he could threaten her about her knowledge, it clearly meant that she was on the right track. Another part of her was worried: what Malfoy had said was true--she ought to be careful. It would be all too easy to meet with an "accident" of some kind.

Taking a deep breath, Ginny decided to take a risk. "So you actually condone your father's behavior?"

"What're you talking about, Weasley?"

"Don't play innocent, Malfoy. It might have worked if you hadn't let a...confession of sorts slip out a moment ago, but it won't get you by now."

"I'm warning you..."

"Ah, but that works two ways. What would happen, say, if I went to Dumbledore and told him exactly what was going on?"

Draco felt the blood drain out of his face. He hoped Weasley couldn't see the change. "You wouldn't."

"Wouldn't I?"

"If you would, you would have done it already."

"Nah. I prefer trying to solve things the hard way, gather all of my evidence, so to speak. It's more fun if the challenge is mine to take."

Draco stared hard at Ginny, but she only met his eyes with an unwavering look. "What are you getting at, Weasel?" he sighed at last.

"Getting at? Why nothing at all, Ferret, nothing at all." Ginny smiled sweetly and said no more. She'd said enough. The seed was planted. Malfoy now knew that she wasn't a push-over, and she would leave it at that for awhile--he could mull things over.

At that moment it was more Ginny's smile, which had caused an uncomfortable hop in his stomach, than her words that affected Draco most. He was going to have to be careful, very careful in more than one way if he wanted to get through the year unscathed.

Ginny was having thoughts of a different sort: it would be so much fun to see exactly how much she could manipulate Malfoy. He packaged himself as snide, uncaring, and wholly in control. Ginny was sure that she could knock down those traits one by one, and after all of those things were gone, what sort of Draco Malfoy would remain? Within her small store of Latin knowledge, Ginny knew that "malfoy" meant "bad faith." The question was, did Draco really have as much bad faith as his family? Quite possibly he did, but then again, maybe not...

"Settle down." Unobserved, Snape had entered the dungeon and was making his way to the front of the classroom. Ginny was also interested to notice that the room had filled with students--she had not been aware of their entrances. Clearly her exchange with Malfoy had kept her very occupied.

"Today you'll all _hopefully_ be learning to make the Transfigura Potion, thought some of you," here Snape shot a nasty look around the room, "may not be able to handle it. The potion is exactly what it sounds like: a transfiguration potion, something akin to the Polyjuice Potion, but much less dangerous. However, if carelessly made, effects _can_ be made permanent." Snape waved his wand at the board in the front of the room, which became covered with scrawled instructions for the potion. "Get to work."

Ginny found that making the potion was an arduous task. Perhaps if she had been with her brother, Harry, and Hermione several years ago during the Chamber of Secrets terror she would have found it easier, but alas, she had not been with them. The hard work kept Ginny occupied and from having to think about Malfoy. She was talented at potions, but not talented enough to allow her thoughts to wander.

Draco Malfoy, on the other hand, was talented enough to allow _his_ thoughts to wander, and wander they did. His proximity to Ginny was making him uncomfortable for numerous reasons, one of which being that somehow she was making him feel guilty. Guilt was an emotion that Draco was wholly unfamiliar with, and the fact that it had decided to take up residence in him was something that made him unhappy.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore, and laying aside his stirrer, he reached into his bag and pulled out a piece of parchment. Picking up his quill he scrawled a few words on it and then hurriedly folded it up. Checking as much to make sure that Professor Snape was busy as to assure himself that none of his fellow Slytherins had their eye on him, Draco shoved the parchment at Ginny and went back to monitoring his potion.

Ginny, who was immediately aware of the note's presence, feigned disinterest until she was sure that her potion was as good as it was going to get. With a sample of the potion carefully beakered and her cauldron magicked clean, Ginny curiously unfolded the note.

_You win, Weasley. Let's talk._

Ginny grinned and flipped her hair over her shoulder before catching up her own quill to write a reply.

_Won what?_

Draco's pale cheeks flushed pink. Was she deliberately goading him? A sidelong glance at the red head revealed that the answer was the affirmative--her eyes were flashing at him, and the corner of her mouth twitched. Her good humor was evident; clearly Ginny no longer was provoked by his behavior. However, Draco simply wasn't used to being teased, and he felt his temper begin to rise. This only served to annoy him further, though. Ginny shouldn't be of enough significance to him to evoke his anger.

_You know what._

He tossed the note back at her. Ginny's reply wasn't long in coming.

_Fine. So talk, then._

Draco sighed frustratedly.

_Not here, dope._

That response actually made Ginny laugh aloud. The strangeness of the situation was palpable. Somehow, at least temporarily, the enmity that was so strong between the two had lessened dramtically.

_All right._

Draco realized that Ginny wasn't giving him anything. If he wanted to talk, he was going to have to be the one to orchestrate the whole thing. He wrote quickly.

_Tonight in the classroom._

This proposition made Ginny a little worried. The classroom held embarrassing memories. But, Ginny decided, whatever Malfoy was willing to tell her she ought to listen to.

_Okay_.

Thinking along similar lines as Ginny, Draco added a last message.

_But we stay far apart. No...touching of any kind_.

Ginny blushed.

_That's fine with me._

Satisfied, Draco tucked the note away in his bag. He had a plan.

Ginny, too, was satisfied. If all went well, she might get more leads on Lucy's situation and on how to put a stop to Ealia's presence in Hogwarts.

**A/N: I did it! I finished the chapter in less than a month! Hooray! You people should be pleased...I hope. My only disappointment is that in my hiatus I seem to have lost all my reviewers. That makes me sad. :o( I like to find reviews waiting for me in my inbox. Ho hum. Hope you liked the chapter anyway!**


	26. Chapter TwentySix

**A/N: I don't know why I always start with an author's note...I don't always have something to say. Like now, for instance. I don't have a single comment to make. So, without further ado, here's the next chapter.**

Chapter 26

Following the potions lesson, Ginny was jumpy. Her heart rate stayed above normal and her stomach was in a perpetual knot. In fact, her inward nervousness was outwardly visible. Ron asked her no fewer than four times whether anything was bothering her, and Harry kept sending her anxious glances. Far from making Ginny feel better, this attention did nothing other than make her feel more uncomfortable.

"Ginny, are you _sure_ that you're feeling ok?" Ron asked her the question during dinner for the fifth time.

"Ron, please! I'm fine. Your constant questioning is what's making me odd," Ginny said, putting down her goblet.

"All right, all right. I'm sorry." There was a slight pause. "But really, you look funny."

"Gee, thanks." Ginny couldn't keep the bite of sarcasm out of her voice.

"No, just...I dunno...shifty or something."

Harry looked at her. "Maybe it's lack of sleep."

Ginny seized on that excuse. "Yes, I'm sure that's it. In fact, I think I'll go ahead back and turn in early. I really am exhausted." Without waiting for either her brother or Harry to respond, Ginny stood up and left the Great Hall. As soon as she was out of sight, she stopped walking and took a deep breath. Her nervousness seemed extraordinarily exaggerated. It was silly that Malfoy should have any effect at all on her other than making her annoyed or angry. Besides, even if he _were_ planning to attack her, he wouldn't get very far. Ginny knew that she was perfectly capable of self-defense--Malfoy had already been on the wrong end of a Bat Bogey Hex. So why was her stomach so knotted-up? Maybe if she had allowed herself to probe into her deeper psyche, Ginny would have come up with the correct answer. However, as the case would have it, she only made her way to the girls' dorm and plopped down on her bed, shutting her eyes.

When she next opened her eyes, Ginny realized that she must have been more tired than she'd thought. The dormitory was darkened and filled with the sounds of breathing--somebody was snoring as well. Ginny stifled a giggle, making a mental note to check back on who the snorer was.

Since Ginny had fallen asleep in all of her clothes, there was no need to spend time getting dressed, and she tiptoed to the common room. What she saw nearly made her retreat back to the stairs. In the dwindling light from the fire, Ginny could make out two sleeping forms in armchairs. Upon closer examination, Ginny felt a swoop of anger go through her. Ron and Harry! Just what were they doing, anyway? Lying in wait for her? Lucky that sleep had overcome them before she'd gotten up. Squashing the urge to play a nasty joke on the sleepers, Ginny turned and left the Gryffindor tower, feeling immediate relief once she'd made it into the dusky corridor. With a little more luck, she'd be able to get back into the tower without having the two boys wake up.

Relief didn't last long. After being in the hallway for mere moments, a pair of eyes glowed at Ginny from the end of the corridor. Her heart halted in mid-beat, and she dodged behind a suit of armor, her hand digging in her pocket for her wand. Seconds later, Ginny's heart started up again. Mrs. Norris. The eyes were just the cat's. She waited until Filch's cat had passed before leaving the shelter of the armor. Things were made much trickier by the lack of the invisibility cloak.

Upon reaching the classroom, Ginny hovered indecisively before the closed door. It would be so easy to just turn around and go back, to pretend she'd slept through it. Ginny sighed. There was no telling whether she'd get another opportunity like this. Malfoy might not be so willing to talk again. Especially if she stood him up this time. Biting her lip, Ginny shoved the door open and stepped boldly into the room.

"About time you got here," Malfoy's voice drawled at her from a darkened corner of the room and Ginny squinted in the direction his voice had come from. Suddenly, wandlight flared and Draco Malfoy rose to his feet from the chair he'd been sitting in. "Mrs. Norris has been by twice already. That's why I had to shut the door."

"What? The great Slytherin, Draco Malfoy, frightened by a wee kitty?"

Draco flushed. "No," he said in a tone of finality that showed his temper to be lurking near the surface as usual.

"Hmm."

"What're you sounding so snide about, Gin--Weasley? I'm not the one with the brother frightened by _spiders_." Draco glared at the girl in front of him.

Had Malfoy almost called her by her first name? Ginny's thought-process quit working for a moment. "Er...what did you want to talk to me about, then?"

Draco, too, found himself feeling decidedly uncomfortable. That near slip was NOT supposed to have happened. What was wrong with him, anyway? Unfortunately for him, things were not about to get any easier. What he had initially wanted to talk to Ginny about no longer seemed like something he could talk about. It would take him too far away from his Malfoy facade. Not to mention that it would completely disrupt the plans that had been long set into motion. He wasn't about to throw everything away for the sake of a mudblood lover. Was he?

"Nothing now. Maybe if you hadn't been late..." Draco crossed his arms.

Ginny stepped forward. She had a temper too and if Malfoy tried to put her off now it was going to show itself. "I beg your pardon? I did not get out of bed to come get told nothing." Draco's wand's light played across her face and form, showing her forehead to be furrowed and her fists clenched.

She was pretty. She was also different. Other girls either sucked up to him or fled from him. Ginny Weasley did neither. She was utterly unflappable, Draco grudgingly admitted to himself. He was no longer quite sure what to do about her. Perhaps not have such thoughts, for starters. However, he couldn't seem to help it. Not now. Not after they'd already appeared. "What's it worth to you?"

"What's _what_ worth to me?" Ginny could feel irritation rising in her.

"The information," Draco replied, "Obviously."

Ginny felt affronted. Was he trying to come on to her? "Excuse me? I hope you're not insinuating what you seem to be."

"What would that be?" A smirk played across Draco's features and a funny bubbly feeling appeared somewhere in his middle.

Ginny rolled her eyes. She didn't want to get pulled into flirting with the Slytherin. To begin with, it was plain weird and completely inappropriate considering their history. Secondly, she didn't trust him, and even worse, she wasn't sure whether she trusted herself. "Why don't you just tell me what you wanted to tell me? Think of it this way, the sooner you tell me, the sooner you'll get to go back to bed."

"But what if I don't _want_ to go back to bed?" Malfoy quirked an eyebrow.

"What're you playing at, Malfoy?" Ginny was beginning to feel suspicious. The situation and Malfoy's behavior was beginning to make Ginny wonder whether Malfoy was just trying to distract her from what she was there to do. "Are you trying to sidetrack me?"

"Sidetrack you?" Draco replied softly, looking down at the fierce, upturned face before him. "No." No, he thought, I'm not trying to sidetrack you, just seduce you. Not for the sake of seducing you, but for the sake of...you. Oh Merlin. What was going on? This was completely WRONG. He hated the Weasleys! Draco frantically tried to remind himself of everything the Weasleys stood for and why they were nothing more than dirt. It didn't work. He was held powerless and against his will by something larger than him.

Ginny was having similar thoughts and sensed danger. She backed away, trying to increase the distance between them. The outing was turning out the wrong way, and she didn't want a repeat of the earlier episode. Ginny didn't think that she could live down another exchange like that one.

She made the mistake of meeting Malfoy's eyes. There was something new in them. They weren't the empty orbs that she was so used to seeing. What was it? A spark, Ginny decided. She couldn't decide whether that was good or bad. Tension was rising rapidly between the students. Both Ginny and Draco could feel the crackle of it in the air around them. Something was going snap. Ginny knew it. The only question was, what? Moments later, Ginny's unasked question was answered.

Ginny and Draco came together. It was as though all of the energy and tension that had built up between them came exploding out. Neither was sure who had moved first. Their lips were pressed together and his hands were everywhere on her. Ginny felt herself tremble slightly, electricity shooting through her body, and she pressed into Draco, allowing the warmth from his body to pass into hers. He was so warm...

Draco felt as though fireworks were going off in his head. He knew that he wasn't supposed to feel for a girl the way he felt for Ginny, it went against everything the Malfoy line stood for. He deepened the kiss, his tongue slipping farther into her mouth, and, feeling her yield, he pulled her even closer to him, inhaling her soft, sweet scent.

He momentarily wrenched his lips away from hers and looked down at Ginny, "You're beautiful." Those words should not have left his mouth.

Ginny looked at him, her eyes full of stars, "And your eyes aren't blank anymore. You have something in them now," she smiled.

"So do you," Draco whispered. Those words, too, were wrong. And then they were pressed back together again.

Draco slid his hand over her, feeling the curves of her body, before bringing it up again to intertwine with her red locks. He removed his lips from Ginny's and slowly made his way down her neck, softly (and sometimes not so softly) kissing every place he stopped. Ginny shut her eyes, hardly daring to believe that this was happening to her, but it was. With trembling fingers that were wholly caught up in the sensations, Ginny felt for the buttons on Draco's shirt and meticulously began to unbutton them, her hand trailing against his bare chest as she did so. At this unexpected sensation, Draco leaned back against the wall, eyes heavy-lidded and his breathing, fast and deep.

"_Ginny!_" the sudden intrusion of a voice made Ginny and Draco spring apart like two guilty children. Ginny turned slowly, dreading having to look at the newcomer, "_What are you doing_?" Ron's voice was drenched with shock.

Ginny had to admit, the scene did not look good. Her shirt was hanging off of one shoulder, her hair was mussed, and unless she was very much mistaken, some first rate hickeys were appearing on her neck from some of Draco's rougher kisses. Draco, for his part, did not look too much better. His blonde hair flopped into his eyes and his navy shirt was completely unbuttoned. Ginny didn't think she'd be able to get out of this one, "Er...having a study session?" maybe humor would work.

"Studying _what_?" Ron's eyes narrowed, "Fraternization with enemies?"

"Ron..."

"No. Ginny, _how could you?_ With _him!_" Ron shook his head, "I can't believe this. He's a MALFOY. The essence of slime."

Draco was just barely managing to hang on to his temper, "Watch yourself, Weasley."

"No, _you_ watch yourself, Malfoy. Don't you come near my sister again," Ron's ears were burning.

The shadow of a sneer appeared on Draco's face. "I'd say that that's up to Ginny," he stated coolly.

"_Ginny!_ You're using her first name? Stay _away_ from her," Ron grabbed Ginny roughly by the arm and dragged her out of the classroom.

"Ron! Let me go!" Ginny shouted, not caring if anyone came to see what was going on.

"No! I _knew_ that something was going on. I'm disgusted," Ron appeared to be at a loss for words.

"Oh yes. I'm sure you _did_ know something was going on." Ginny was furious. "The way you were watching my every move, even staking out the common room _in case I should decide to leave_. Since when is MY life YOUR business, Ronald?"

"You're my sister." Ron replied, by way of an answer.

"That doesn't make your behavior right."

"You are not going near him again."

"Don't you try to order me about!"

"I'll do what I bloody well like!"

Angry tears filled Ginny's eyes. "You're despicable," Ginny said in a low voice.

"What do you suppose Mum and Dad'll say when they find out you've been snogging Draco Malfoy! _I'm_ despicable? Bloody hell, Ginny, do you even _know_ what you're doing?"

The answer to that was a resounding no. Ginny didn't know what she was doing, but she wasn't about to tell that to Ron. Instead, she opted to glare at him in silence.

"Lucius Malfoy is a Death Eater. The Aurors at the ministry have every reason to think that Malfoy is going to follow in his father's footsteps. And you're here SNOGGING him. _More_ than snogging him." Ron wouldn't even look at his younger sister.

"I'm sorry." Ginny's throat squeezed with unshed tears. "It...wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to tell me... Nevermind."

Ron whipped around and grabbed Ginny's arm. "He's _using_ you, Ginny. Harry overheard him at breakfast this morning--"

"Don't tell Harry!" Ginny interrupted. "Please. He'll hate me."

"I suppose he will. With reason," Ron griped, "But all right. I won't say anything for now."

By this time they were back at the entrance to the Gryffindor tower. Ron said the password and disappeared inside without waiting for Ginny. By the time Ginny had reached the common room, Ron was gone and the room was deserted. Ginny flung herself onto a sofa and let her tears flow freely. It shouldn't have happened. None of it. And she hadn't even gotten information out of it. Not a single word. It had been an utter waste. A waste of everything. She remembered Ron's words, "He's _using_ you, Ginny." A seed of doubt was planted. Maybe he was. He _was_ a Malfoy. And he had a...reputation. A wave of shame crashed over Ginny. More over what others' reactions would be than over the actual events. She still tingled from Malfoy's touch.

Runny-nosed and bleary-eyed, Ginny dragged herself off to bed. She tossed and turned for quite a long time before sleep claimed her. Things were ever so much more complicated than she'd imagined that they would be. And she _still_ needed to figure out what was going on with Lucy's uncle, possibly a.k.a Lucius Malfoy. At last, with a shuddering sigh, Ginny drifted off.

**A/N: Hooray! This chapter's a bit longer. I hope you Draco/Ginny fans liked it... :o) The only other thing I have to say is: Please review! xblissfulxsinx is doing a fantastic job! Number one reader, perhaps? Also, thank you to metrocker1. But seriously, I tend to lose motivation if I get no feedback. Maybe I shouldn't, but I do, so please please review! (See? I even threw in a rhyme for you).**


	27. Chapter TwentySeven

**A/N: I'm so sorry guys...if any of you are left, that is. I've been a really bad author. I let the story die. But...now I'm going to do my best to revive it. We'll see.**

Chapter 27

Malfoy was furious. The problem was, there was so much to be furious about, he wasn't entirely sure where to direct his anger. Weasley because he'd been (as he always was) such a bloody prat, his father because, well, there was always something there to eat away at him, and life in general. The whole fucking world was out to get him. Stupid Gryffindors (and the other houses too) always up so high, thinking that they knew everything.

Draco slammed his fist into the desk. "OW!" The pain only served to make him madder. Still fuming, and now nursing his throbbing hand, he exited the classroom to return to his dormitory. As he was about to make his way down the stairs, a faint glow of light at the end of the corridor caught his eye. He knew what it was immediately.

"That thing had better watch itself. If I ever get ahold of it..." he growled in an undertone. Almost as though it had heard him, the light was extinguished and the corridor fell into blackness once again.

"What were you up to, tonight?" Blaise Zabini lay stretched out on one of the sofas in the Slytherin common room, a book dangling from his hand.

Draco started. "Why are you still awake?"

"Had studying to do. You didn't answer." Blaise grinned.

"I had to write a letter to my father," Draco said, somewhat shortly, his eyes roving the room to see whether there was anyone else present that he had missed, "about _important_ things. You know..."

"I thought you did that a couple of nights ago, when the news was fresh off the press."

"Yeah, but now there's more."

"More than that Weasley girl being too damn inquisitive about everything and roping in Potter and Weasley the elder?"

"Yeah. More than that."

Blaise gave a low whistle. "Some damage control's got to be done, mate."

"I know. Hence the letter. Now I've really got to get some sleep. We've got class with Gryffindor, and I don't want to be shown-up by any of them."

"Not so bad now that that mudblood is gone though."

"Granger? Mm. Night, Blaise." Draco passed his friend and disappeared into the entrance to the dormitories. Why was Blaise still up? Draco felt a flash of suspicion, but then quickly squashed it. He was too tired to think. Too conflicted. He groaned. Things had suddenly gotten too damn complicated. Had he let himself go a little _too_ far? Draco shut his eyes, and sleep quickly overcame him.

88888

Ginny woke up the next morning feeling the worst she'd felt in quite some time. Lack of sleep only served to increase her misery ten-fold. Breakfast would be horrible, what with Ron being at the table with her, knowing everything that had happened, and Harry being there and not knowing any of what had transpired. It was the feeling of getting in trouble in the worst possible way. Why did Ron have to be so _nosey_? But then guilt washed over her. _Had_ she betrayed her family and friends?

Walking into the Great Hall twenty minutes later, Ginny was just angry. None of the guilt remained, or if it did, it lay hidden under the layer of bubbling frustration that Ginny was currently experiencing. She'd managed to frighten some of her roommates with her constant stream of angry mumbling as she pulled on her clothing. Glancing at the Gryffindor table, she was pleased to see that neither Harry nor Ron was anywhere in sight. Still grumbling, she plopped down into a seat and started serving herself enormous portions of the food that was on the table. Food at least might make things seem a bit better.

She made the mistake of looking up. Her fork, loaded with scrambled eggs, was halfway to her mouth when their eyes met. Despite trying her hardest not to be affected, Ginny felt heat rising from her neck and up into her face. Draco, for his part, had no expression whatsoever. He held Ginny's gaze for a moment and then looked away and seemed to begin a conversation with Crabbe, who was on his right. Ginny slumped internally. She'd wanted, oh, she didn't know, some _recognition_ on his part? _He's using you, Ginny._

"Ginny!" Harry had come up behind her, shadowed by Ron.

"Oh. Hi Harry." Ginny ignored her brother.

"Did you manage to catch up on your sleep?" Ginny looked at him sharply, but could see no evidence that Harry had even the slightest inkling about the events of the previous evening.

"No, not really." Ginny decided to be at least partially truthful. "I had a lot on my mind."

"Yeah, don't we all." Harry smiled ruefully. Ron, of course, maintained a stony silence throughout the exchange.

"Well...er...I've got to be getting to class. I'll see you later." Ginny hurriedly gathered up her things and made her way out of the hall. As she headed toward the main entrance to go to Care of Magical Creatures, Ginny overheard voices in a nearby alcove. She paused, straining her ears.

"So she absolutely knows, then?" A cool male voice asked.

"Well, not absolutely, obviously, because she doesn't have any absolute proof, Blaise." It was Draco. Ginny's heart pounded. She wasn't sure whether it was because she could be caught eavesdropping at any moment, or because the conversation could plausibly be about her, or because she was hearing Draco's voice.

"What does your father have to say about it?"

"In his last letter, he instructed me to continue doing as I'd been doing. He commended me on sticking with such a," here there was a slight pause, "repulsive task."

"Dunno. She's not half-bad looking this year." Blaise sounded as though he were grinning. "I'd have a go at--"

"All _right_, Zabini. That isn't the point." Draco sounded annoyed.

"I'm only saying... Same response on her end?"

"Yeah." Draco sounded smug. "She **is**a girl, after all, and I'm, well, Draco Malfoy. I know what I'm doing. Her brother, though--"

"Ginny!" Colin Creevey was coming down the passage towards her, armed, as usual, with his camera.

Flustered and with far too much whirling around in her mind, Ginny flashed Colin what she hoped was a passable smile. "Hi, Colin."

"Ready for Care of Magical Creatures?" The rest of Colin's small face was lost in a brilliant grin. "I heard that the things we're working with today are great for taking pictures of. I thought I could start a scrapbook for our year. Muggles have these things called yearbooks that their school's put out every year."

"I know." Ginny knew about yearbooks quite well. One evening Arthur Weasley had bounced in after work wielding what looked like a dog-eared and tattered book. It had turned out to be an ancient high school yearbook belonging to the sibling of one of the muggle-born wizards at the ministry. Arthur had convinced the man to let him borrow it, and had subsequently spent the night showing it off to his family.

'Well, I thought it'd be quite cool if we had one as well..." Colin blabbed on and on. Occasionally Ginny smiled and nodded or said, "Mm," but her thoughts were preoccupied by what she'd overheard in the alcove.

Several times during class Hagrid had had to shout out warnings to Ginny so that she didn't endanger herself and her fellow students. Each time Ginny told herself she'd pay attention. Each time she lapsed back into thought. What did Malfoy mean? Maybe Ron was right. Maybe even as she, Harry, and Ron thought that they were working to fix everything, they were actually playing right into Lucius Malfoy's plan.

Ginny's thoughts weren't really disrupted until she returned from class and was trudging slowly towards the portrait hole.

"GINNY! THERE YOU ARE. YOU'VE GOT TO COME WITH US RIGHT NOW!" Ron came barreling out of the portrait hole at top speed, leaving the painting swinging and the fat lady squawking.

"Wh-what?" Ginny was taken aback.

"Me and Harry. Well, me. Harry's already there." Ron grabbed his sister's arm and began tugging her along behind him. The excitement, whatever it was, seemed to have made him temporarily forget about Ginny's transgression.

"Where? Ron, what's going on?"

"It's Ealia. I mean, Lucy. I mean, Harry will explain. It's good news. We think."

The unknown destination turned-out to be a little rickety table in a dark, rather cobwebby corner of the library. Harry was there, drumming his fingers impatiently against the tabletop.

"Oh good, there you two are."

Ginny, huffing slightly, pulled out a chair and sank into it. "We're all ears, Harry."

"Lucy remembered the incantation."

"What! But Harry, are you sure that it's the real one? I mean, Ealia could have been in control and given you something that will turn out to be dangerous if we try to counter it."

"I'm pretty sure it was Lucy. But you're right. That's why it's going to be risky."

"What is?" Ron looked worried. "Harry, you didn't tell me that you'd already worked something out."

"We're going to sneak into the hospital wing and fix Hermione tonight."

"Er...It might...well...erm...Maybe we should just tell Madam Pomfrey and let her set it right."

"Are you mad, Ron? If we did that, then Pomfrey would know which student was to blame. We don't want to turn in Lucy!" Harry looked at Ron frustratedly.

Ron didn't look convinced. Ginny added, "If we DID turn Lucy in, Ealia would find out and then we might be in a worse situation."

"Yeah." Harry sent Ginny a grateful look. "So...tonight in the common room at one. Be there. We're getting Hermione back!"

**A/N: So it isn't super long. I know. But I really wanted to get something up, and this is what I've got. I hope you like it okay. :o)**


	28. Chapter TwentyEight

A/N: Hello again

**A/N: Hello again. Listens for the echo in a room devoid of readers I think if I were to win an award, it would be an award given to the person least capable of seeing a story through to its finish in a timely manner. If any of you reading this were reading the story a couple of years ago, you have my deepest apologies. I know how it feels to be left hanging, and it's not good. Anyway, without further ado, here is, at long last, the next chapter!**

Chapter 28

Harry had been rather surprised when Lucy had come reeling around a bookshelf in the library to plunk herself down across from him at the table at which he was currently diligently at work. The idea had been to get a start on writing thirteen inches about wizarding superstitions for Professor Binns. According to the book Harry had been reading, thirteen was also considered an unlucky number in the wizarding world. He was therefore puzzled as to why Binns had assigned that exact number as the length of the essay. Perhaps he had forgotten. Knowing Binns, it wouldn't have been at all surprising.

"Harry!" Lucy's voice was hushed but full of urgency.

"Oh! Lucy. Hi." Harry adjusted his glasses and peered at the flushed girl who had just plopped into the chair across from him.

Now that she was actually facing him, Harry thought that Lucy didn't seem quite as overexcited as she had been upon her entry. "Er…well…I've been—I've been thinking a lot about that night," Lucy glanced up at Harry briefly before returning her eyes to the wooden tabletop, "You know…when…when I attacked Hermione." It was clear that the mention of the occurrence pained the blond girl quite a bit. She took a steadying breath. "Anyway, the thing is, I _think_ I may have remembered the incantation that…that took…that put Hermione into the state she's in now."

Harry had completely forgotten about his superstition essay; quill and parchment lay unnoticed, as he stared avidly at Lucy. "Really?!"

"Yes. I…I think so." Lucy chanced a look over her shoulder, a testament to her nervousness, before refocusing on Harry." I think it was 'soulus evaporatus.'"

He was no Hermione, but Harry didn't need Hermione's brains to tell him that the incantation Lucy had just given him was something really horrid. "How are we supposed to fix _that?_" he mumbled, almost more to himself than to Lucy, but she responded by reaching under the table and into her bag, setting a large book onto the table between them.

"I think that this might help."

Harry pulled the book towards him and opened the fading cover. Bold red lettering jumped out at him from the yellowing title page, "A Collection of Dark Curses and Their Counter-Curses by E. E. Mebbley."

"There's an index in the back," Lucy said, sounding eager to be of help, suddenly on the side of the counter-curser rather than in the role of curser.

As Harry flipped to the back of the ancient volume, he suddenly remembered something peculiar. "Lucy?"

"Hmm?' Lucy's blue eyes met his green ones.

"Early on, I mean, when we were talking about Quidditch at the beginning of term, you said you lived with your parents—that they were supposed to send you your broomstick…" Harry trailed off, his question palpable. Looking at Lucy, he noticed that she looked vaguely unsettled.

"I did. I know. I…it's…I try to pretend that I have a normal family when I'm around people I don't know very well. My situation is very…" Lucy seemed to be searching for the right word. Finally, she shrugged, "complicated."

Something struck Harry as odd about it all. Certainly Lucy's explanation made sense to him: not having parents himself made Harry all too familiar with how much of an outsider it made him feel. Why, he even lived with his aunt…and uncle… His head snapped up.

"Harry?"

"What? Oh…er….nothing. Listen, this is fantastic. I've got to let Ron and Ginny know. They'll be absolutely ecstatic."

"What will I be ecstatic about?" A bright orange head appeared, connected to the tall, gangly body that was Ron Weasley.

"Lucy just—Lucy?" The girl seemed to have disappeared. Harry brushed it off and turned his attention back to his best mate. "Lucy thinks she remembered something about the night Hermione was attacked."

"_What?! _ But…but _how?_ They were all memory charmed!" Ron stood agog.

Harry realized he was entering dangerous territory considering his promise of silence to Lucy. "She, er, must not have gotten the brunt of the spell. Anyway, a bit of memory seems to have trickled back to her."

Ron was just standing there looking as though Christmas had come early. Harry was not even sure whether his friend had heard his explanation. "Ron. _Ron?_"

Slowly Ron's eyes refocused. A grin spread across his face. "Harry, this is bloody fantastic!"

Harry grinned too and rumpled his hair. "It is. Go get Ginny and bring her back here. I want to tell you both at the same time."

"But…" Ron looked torn. It was obvious that he really wanted to know, but that he was also thinking about what his younger sister would do to him if she found out he'd been privy to some information that she hadn't been.

"Ron, just go! I'll be waiting right here." Harry leaned back into his chair for good measure.

Ron didn't need further urging. He was out of the library like a shot, though not without earning a disapproving glare from Madam Pince who'd had a whole stack of neatly organized file cards blown willy-nilly at Ron's passing. "Sorry, Madam Pince! Got to go. In a bit of a hurry," he'd called over his shoulder as he'd pushed open the heavy doors that led to the corridor.

Harry snorted, momentarily amused by Ron's enthusiasm. He sobered a minute later, however, as he thought about his exchange with Lucy. An idea was forming in his mind and he didn't particularly like it. If he were right…well, he was going to have to be careful not to underestimate the power behind the whole chain of events. Whoever was orchestrating it all was not messing around—especially, thought Harry, if my suspicions are correct.

888888

Ginny was torn. She was, of course, unbelievably pleased that, with a bit of luck, they'd have Hermione walking and talking again by morning, but her mood was darkened slightly by the conversation she'd overheard between Malfoy and Zabini. She'd been letting herself adjust far too quickly to this new Malfoy, something for which she mentally chastised herself. Something was up. Ginny corrected herself, something _more_ was up. Clearly from here on out, she'd proceed with more caution, and like _hell_ if she was ever going to catch herself with her lips on Malfoy's again.

"Well, well, well. Hello Weasley." _Dammit_. Couldn't fate ever once intervene for the better? Ginny raised her eyes to see Blaise Zabini lounging against a suit of armor, looking as though he couldn't have found a better resting spot.

"Zabini," she said curtly, barely sparing the boy a glance, but apparently Zabini wasn't having any of that. He stepped smoothly away from the armor and directly into Ginny's path, forcing her to stop short.

"I think we have a mutual friend, Weasley." Zabini's eyes were narrowed, but they were not so narrow that Ginny couldn't detect a spark of malicious humor dancing in their dark depths.

"Is that so? I doubt it. I don't tend to extend the hand of friendship to any in your crowd, Zabini. Now, if you will excuse me—"

"Not so fast. What's the rush, anyway? It's not like a _potion_ is bubbling over anywhere." Zabini's voice was even, with only a hint of a jab hidden in his words.

Ginny felt her heart pause in spite of herself. How many people had Malfoy told? "You're right. It isn't. But it _is_ as though I've got people who are waiting to meet me." She glared up at the older boy, wishing desperately that she were taller. However, it was then that Ginny realized that Zabini had inadvertently given up the game. If he knew about the cauldron in Myrtle's toilet, then quite clearly Malfoy was involving Zabini for a reason. Obviously Malfoy was to be anything but trusted. If the conversation earlier hadn't made that crystal clear, Zabini's knowledge here did.

"They can wait. I'm speaking of Draco Malfoy. You're…acquainted with him, I believe?" Ginny was aware of how closely Zabini was watching her and was determined not to show any reaction.

"Yes. He's an insufferable git. Now would you please move out of my way?" She stared at the boy in her path, face stoic.

It was as though Blaise Zabini hadn't heard anything past the 'yes.' "He wants you to meet him. Tonight at one. In the classroom," he looked at her, "He says you know where that is. He's got something he wants to tell you." With that said, Zabini turned his back on Ginny and disappeared down the corridor, leaving the redheaded Gryffindor in his wake, her mind spinning furiously.

She wanted to meet Malfoy. Sort of. However, there was no question in her mind about being present for waking Hermione. That came first. Malfoy was simply going to have to deal with being stood-up. It would serve him right, anyway. Clearly first impressions were correct in this case: Malfoy was a sneaking, slimy, deceptive…Ginny cut the list short, feeling sure she could go on with it for days. She'd think of something to get back at him, and when she did…

She was at the portrait. Surprisingly, Harry was there too, pacing in front of the Fat Lady who was making weak protests about his back and forth movement; something about a headache.

"Hiya. Harry. I thought you and Ron had to find Madam Hooch?"

"Oh, Ginny. Good. Just the person I was waiting for. And we did. Only she wasn't about so we came back here. You took awhile." He glanced at her sharply.

"Yeah, well. Unpleasant people go to this school and one can't help but run into them from time to time. Anyway, what's up, Harry?"

Harry looked as though he'd like to ask more questions, but the expression on Ginny's face kept him from doing it. "I'm beginning to wonder about Lucy. I have this sense that something is just not right with her."

"I thought we'd established that. It's that whole, having an Osembleraniat possess you, thing," Ginny quipped.

"No, I'm serious, Gin. First, at the start of term, she tells me she's got two loving parents who are going to send her her broomstick as soon as they can, then it comes out that she's actually living with some mysterious, demented uncle. Then there's the fact that she supposedly just moved here from Wales, but this uncle of hers is English—and I think we both have our suspicions about _him_—so where was she _really_ before? And if she was in Wales, who was she with? Things aren't adding up. And don't you think it a bit peculiar that we have such a common foundation upon which to relate?" Harry looked energized.

"What common foundation?" Ginny was more or less following, but having to take some time to put together everything her friend was saying.

"Well, that we're both orphans living with cruel uncles. In my case there's an aunt, too, but you get the point. Something's off." Harry glanced at Ginny, whose eyes were narrowed in thought..

"I think you might be right, and I certainly think that there's a whole lot more to this mess than we initially thought. It seems to run kind of deep, to say the least."

Harry nodded. "So, Ginny, who did you run into in the corridor just now, then?"

"Oh look! It's Luna! Hey, Luna!" Ginny dashed off to meet her friend, leaving Harry behind and befuddled. Things were _certainly_ running deep as it seemed that Ginny was in the thick of something herself.

**A/N: Phew. Okay you guys. Again, my apologies. I mean, who DOES this. Starts a fic and then, after a couple of years, abandons it, only to begin writing again **_**another**_** couple of years down the line? I know, I know, I'm crazy. I really DO want to finish this one day, though.**


	29. Chapter TwentyNine

**A/N: Back again and doing my best to stay atop the story. Funny thing is, I have about a million other things I ought to be doing. Clearly my innate urge to procrastinate is really helping out 'Disturbances.'**

**Again, I own the plot, some words/"spells," and Lucy, and perhaps some of the personality variations in characters not owned by me. Said characters belong to the genius that is J. K. Rowling, as does the setting.**

Chapter 29

A slow, dreamy smile had spread across Luna's face upon hearing her name. "Hello, Ginevra." She paused, ceasing to run her fingers over the stones lining the corridor walls.

"Really, Luna, you can call me Ginny," Ginny said, thinking of how hearing "Ginevra" always gave her the feeling that she was about to get into trouble.

"Did you know, " Luna continued as though she hadn't heard Ginny's insertion, "that you're named for a muggle queen?"

Ginny quirked an eyebrow. "Well, yeah, I think my dad mentioned something about that. She was associated with Merlin. Only her name was…was something like Gwiniv…er…"

"Guinevere. It means 'fair one' you know. My father is looking into the possibility that Merlin might actually be an ancestor of He Who Must Not Be Named. He happened to mention that name."

"Oh. That's…really interesting, Luna." Ginny wasn't entirely sure what to make of the information. As far as she knew, Merlin was not known for having procreated. This was clearly another of Mr. Lovegood's conspiracy theories.

"Merlin saved Guinevere's life, you know. It sets a very interesting precedent."

"Mm. Listen, Luna, d'you want to get some dinner? I'm starving."

"Yes, all right." Still walking as though in a dream, Luna drifted along next to Ginny all the way to the Great Hall.

As Ginny and Luna parted ways to go to their separate tables, Draco Malfoy rammed into Ginny from the side in what was quickly becoming his modus operandi.

"Oh, excuuuuse me, Weasley," he drawled in his usual snide, unpleasant, tone. Then, in a hiss, he spoke again, "Get my message?"

Ginny, who had put a hand out to steady herself, pretended that she hadn't heard him and continued on her way to the Gryffindor table, where she plunked down next to Dean, leaving a nonplussed Malfoy standing awkwardly in the middle of the Great Hall.

"What is his _problem?_" Dean griped, staring angrily at the blond boy, having seen the whole exchange from his seat at the table.

"He's Malfoy," Ginny replied, "he _is_ the problem." She helped herself to a slice of roast beef.

Dean found her response to be uproariously funny and took great pleasure in repeating it to Seamus and Neville, who were sitting nearby. Ginny took the opportunity to think.

She didn't get very far. "Ginny! Why did you run off like that? From the portrait hole, I mean." Ginny looked up to see Harry climbing onto the bench beside her. Ron hovered nearby, wearing the displeased expression on his face that he'd been wearing around his sister since he'd walked in on her and Malfoy in the classroom.

"I didn't. I just remembered that I'd told Luna I'd walk with her to dinner." Harry looked skeptical. Ron looked like a lump. "_Really_ Harry, that's all it was."

"Who'd you run into, then?" Ron piped up, accusation palpable in his voice. Obviously Harry had told him about his conversation in the corridor with Ginny.

Ginny sighed. "Blaise Zabini. He just waylaid me and acted a total prat. It wasn't anything important." She shrugged, taking a sip from her goblet.

"_Zabini?_" Ron looked incredulous. "What's _he_ up to?" He stared at Ginny.

"I thought he stuck to himself," Harry added.

Ginny shrugged again. "How should I know? I've never had anything to do with him before. He's _your_ partner in potions." Ginny looked pointedly at her brother as though to suggest that if anyone ought to know anything about Zabini, it would be Ron.

"It isn't like I _talk_ to the git," Ron retorted before taking a mouthful of potato.

"Well, I don't either." Ginny put down her fork. Ron mumbled something unintelligible, potato visible in his mouth, but didn't press the matter any further.

Harry, who'd been looking between the siblings with some interest, spoke-up, "So…tonight, right?"

"Right!" Ron perked-up instantly.

"Absolutely. Why don't we all go check on the potion together and then go to Hermione?" Ginny felt that sticking together as a group would most lend itself to keeping her out of any sort of trouble.

"That sounds like an excellent idea, Gin." Harry smiled. "We really ought to take a look at the book Lucy gave me, too. I really wish we had Hermione _here_ to help us with the counter-curse, but I guess if we did, we wouldn't be needing the counter in the first place." He scrunched his mouth to the side, making a wry expression.

"Yeah." Ron deflated.

Ginny glanced between the two boys. "Cheer up, you two. We'll have Hermione back with us before the sun rises." And then, she added silently, we'll really be able to make headway on what the heck is going on this term.

"Hi!" Lucy sat down next to Ron, who promptly turned a light shade of pink as he often did when any attractive girl came particularly near to him.

"Hi, Lucy." Ginny gave the blond girl a friendly smile, but looked at her closely for any signs of… Of what? Of deception?

Harry also approached the newcomer warily. "How are you, Lucy?"

"I'm fine. Much better than I have been lately. I'm really glad I remembered…_you_ know."

"Yeah, so are we!" Ron seemed to forget himself for a moment and gave Lucy a chummy pat on the back before hurriedly withdrawing his hand and flushing still darker.

"Have you got any idea about what you're going to do?" Harry looked closely at Lucy, but she looked sincere and benign. He couldn't be sure though.

Playing it safe, Harry responded with a vague answer. "No. We'd like to try to fix her up ourselves, but we don't know when yet, and the counter-curse looks pretty difficult."

Lucy nodded genially. "Let me know when you plan something, will you? I'd like to be there." She glanced at her watch. "Oh! I have a meeting. I've got to be going," and, after snatching up a roll and flashing a last smile, Lucy hurried from the Great Hall.

She was not, however, unobserved. Ginny happened to notice Malfoy's eyes following the girl very closely as she disappeared through the doorway before turning to his right to address something that Crabbe had said. Something stupid, judging from the look on Malfoy's pointed features.

"Did you see that?" hissed Harry.

"What?" Ron looked inquisitive.

"How Malfoy watched her leave? Yeah. I noticed," Ginny replied.

"There's something between those two and we need to find out what it is."

"Yeah, all right, but how?" Ron was sending a nasty look in the direction of the Slytherin table, clearly envisioning all of the things they could do to Malfoy to make him spill the beans.

"I suppose we'll just have to be very observant, since fraternization with the enemy is a no no." Ginny couldn't help herself. Ron whipped his head around, but Ginny was wearing an innocent expression and seemed to have nothing else to say.

"Right in one," Harry was oblivious to the tension that had just flared up between his two friends, "Where Malfoy is concerned, nothing is predictable…_or_ believable."

888888

Draco, for his part, was closely watching the three Gryffindors with their heads together. He was positive that he knew what they were talking about, and he was equally as positive that he didn't like it. Far too much was riding on the plan for anyone to try to destroy it. Granger had tried, and look where it had gotten her. Draco snorted. Stupid Mudblood. He knew that the Memorium potion was nearly done, but that would be taken care of in due time.

"I don't think she's going to do it." A low voice to his left pulled Draco from his thoughts.

"What?" Draco hadn't the faintest idea as to what it was talking about.

"Weasley. I don't think she's going to listen to your message," Blaise Zabini repeated himself.

Draco frowned. If Weasley was any other girl he'd be nearly finished already. Damn that redhead temper of hers. "If she doesn't, I'll think of something. Or my father will."

Blaise nodded, and then, smirking, "Well, when you're done with her, do you mind if…?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, the ghost of a smirk playing about his lips.

"Blaise, do whatever you want!" Draco snapped as he stood up abruptly, blaming his sudden irritation on the fact that once again, what seemed to be a well-laid plan was in-trouble yet again.

"Draco, what—" Blaise looked surprised.

"Don't worry about it. I need to go back to the common room to write another letter." White-blond hair glinting, Draco strode from the Great Hall, already thinking about what he was going to put into his letter.

Blaise stared after his friend and shook his head, then looked over at the Gryffindor table where Ginny Weasley was laughing at something either Potter or her brother had said. Whether her family was full of blood-traitors or not, she really wasn't half-bad looking. Blaise wasn't as particular about staying in-house or even as "pure" when it came to his women as was Malfoy. But then again, Blaise didn't see them as anything much more than something with which to have fun and move on from.

888888

Ginny, Harry, and Ron were huddled around the counter-curse book in the Gryffindor common room, eagerly scanning the pages that addressed Soulus Evaporatus. There were five. It was a whole lot of information and Harry was beginning to wonder if they'd manage it okay. If only brains like Hermione's were available for hire. He had no doubt that her brain would know what to make of the five pages. Ginny, Harry noticed, was still attacking the information with vigor, but Ron lay on his stomach, staring at the book with a hopeless expression on his face.

"_How_ are we supposed to do this?" Ron grumped. Leave it to him to be the whiny one, Ginny thought, rolling her eyes.

"We read it, Ronald. Then we read it again and work out what's going on and what's got to be done." Ginny couldn't keep the edge out of her voice as she looked up from the book to answer her brother.

"No need to get hostile and patronizing!" Ron looked highly affronted.

"Maybe if you didn't always complain about everything before it's even been attemp—"

"All right!" Both Ron and Ginny jumped at the sound of Harry's voice. "This really isn't the time to fight. We've got to concentrate on getting Hermione out of the Hospital Wing."

Ginny shot a glare at Ron, who was refusing to look at her, "You're right Harry. It was silly of us."

"Yeah, silly," Ron echoed, though he still sounded grumpy. Then he added, "We'd better clean-up after ourselves…Madam Pomfrey won't like the chalk all over the Hospital Wing floor."

**A/N: Hokay! Chapter done and more to come! I hope you are all enjoying it, and if you **_**are**_** it'd be amazing if you'd drop me a line (review) and let me know what you're thinking so far. Heck, if you **_**don't**_** like it, let me know that too. Any feedback is always MORE than appreciated. :o) And any old readers? If you're still there, let me know.**


	30. Chapter Thirty

A/N: Hello again

**A/N: New installment, coming right up! I must say, I am **_**most**_** appreciative for those three new reviews. I was super excited when the notification emails landed in my in-box. And those of you who've put me on an alert/as a favorite, a big thanks to you, too.**

**Once again, I don't own the characters…except for Lucy…Ms. Rowling does, the plot's mine…yaddah yaddah. You know the drill.**

Chapter 30

"Ouch, Ron! You just stepped on my foot," Ginny snapped at her brother in hushed tones as they and Harry shuffled out of the portrait hole, covered by the invisibility cloak.

"Shh!" Harry leaned slightly forward to stare at the siblings. "We might be invisible but that doesn't stop Filch or Mrs. Norris from hearing us." Harry knew all too well what it was like to be heard wandering about after hours and to realize that the cloak's protection really was rather limited.

"Yeah, sorry Harry. I always forget what enormous feet Ron's got," Ginny said matter-of-factly. She noticed, with a certain amount of pleasure, that even in the shadow of the cloak she could detect Ron's ears grow darker, but he made no attempt to retort.

Silence reigned for the remaining trip to Myrtle's bathroom, taken at a tortoise-like pace. Ginny breathed a sigh of relief as they rounded the last corner, feeling that if the walk had been any longer, she would have taken her chances with Filch and have bolted out from under the cloak. Harry, for his part, had spent the time going over the steps for the counter-incantation and checking and re-checking his pocket for the piece of chalk he'd dropped into it. The book had been very clear about that chalk.

"Aww, bloody hell!" Ron had made it into the bathroom first. "She flooded it!" Sounds of splashing met Ginny's and Harry's ears as Ron waded through what they soon saw was a deepish puddle stretching from Myrtle's stall out to the bathroom entrance.

As Harry stepped towards the stall, Ginny connected the dots. "No, oh no!" She squelched through the water and flung open the stall door, her worries realized. "Well. That was a waste of time." She crossed her arms. Harry and Ron hurried to join her, peering into their potion's hiding place.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me." The force of Myrtle's flood had extinguished the magic fire built in the toilet and had actually knocked the cauldron sideways off its perch, sloshing potion over its sides. Clearly, the potion was now useless, not having fully matured and having been without heat for who knows how long.

Ron was staring, open-mouthed, his rage apparent on his face. "If I _ever_…if Myrtle….That little…"

"I can't believe Myrtle would do something like this." Harry was frowning. "I mean, we've used her stall to make potions before…the Polyjuice potion…"

"What does it matter? Probably didn't like that we didn't ask her first, or some sort of rubbish like that." Ron slouched against one of the sinks, glaring at the toilet in front of him. "And we've more of a right to it than she has…spends most of her time sulking in the u-bend…" Ron's train of thought deteriorated into unintelligible mutterings.

"I suppose, then, that we'd better hope that that incantation Lucy remembered was the right one, and that the counter-incantation works," Ginny said, looking sadly at the mess on the floor.

"Evanesco." Harry vanished the potion, leaving a spotless, tilted cauldron behind. "Well, I guess that leaves us with nothing left to do but go to Hermione." He patted his pocket for the chalk, once again.

"Harry, it's not going anywhere." Ginny gave him a crooked grin.

Harry smiled back. "Guilty."

"Let's go, shall we?' Ron was impatient..

"Yeah, all right, let's." With a last glance at what used to be their potion, Harry picked-up the invisibility cloak and flung it over the three of them and they exited to the hall.

"Wait," hissed Ginny as they stepped into the corridor.

"What?"

"We're leaving wet footprints. They'll be a damn good clue for anyone who happens along."

"Oh, right." Harry nodded. With a wave of her wand, Ginny dried their shoes and cleared the footprints from the floor.

"There."

"Thanks, Gin." Harry smiled gratefully.

The walk to the hospital wing was uneventful, and Harry, who'd been primed to expect to see Mrs. Norris' lamp-like eyes at least once during his nighttime wanderings, was pleasantly surprised by the lack of them. Even Filch's wheezing breathing or Peeves' cackling was absent.

"You know, it's almost too quiet." Ron gave a small look around.

"I was thinking that, too," Harry agreed.

"Do you s'pose we've got to worry about Madam Pomfrey?" They were at the doors to the hospital wing and Ginny wanted to know what to expect.

"I thought we'd just cast a silencing spell once we were inside Hermione's…er….tent," Harry replied. "That way we won't have to worry about being overheard by anyone."

"Good thinking mate." Ron had an approving expression his face.

"Yeah, especially since we don't exactly know what the counter-incantation is going to do. It could be quite loud," Ginny mused. "Let's hope it doesn't let off large amounts of light."

"Or hope that Pomfrey's not a light sleeper." Ron nodded.

The hospital wing was dark, beds empty save for a couple of first years who'd suffered the same fate as Neville during Madam Hooch's flying lesson who were in the hospital having bones re-grown. Bottles of Skele-grow rested on the tables beside the occupied beds.

"Let's hope _they're_ deep sleepers too," Ron whispered, gesturing in the first years' direction.

Hermione was in one of the back corners of the wing, away from the general hustle and bustle. Simple white curtains were draped around her bed, hiding Hermione from the stares of curious passersby.

"I wonder…do you think her parents have been alerted?" Harry wondered aloud.

"If they have been, I'd have thought that they'd be here." Ginny looked at Harry.

"I imagine that Pomfrey and Dumbledore want to make sure there's nothing that can be done, first," Ron said sagely.

"By the way, how're we going to explain Hermione's miraculous recovery if"—here Ron interjected with a "when"—"we manage to properly do the counter-incantation?" Ginny asked.

Harry paused. "I hadn't thought about that. That's a good point. I suppose we can just have her stay in her bed and just 'wake-up' sometime tomorrow…"

Ginny shook her head. "They'll know something's up…" she shrugged. "Well, I guess it's as good a plan as any."

"Besides, when's the last time Dumbledore got mad at Harry for playing the hero?" Ron raised an eyebrow.

"Ron! It's not just _me_ you know." Harry looked troubled, as this was a well-established sore spot between Ron and him.

"I know, I know. I'm just saying that I don't think we've got to be too worried. As long as Snape or Filch doesn't stumble upon us, anyway."

"And speaking of them, oughtn't we get started?" Ginny led the way to Hermione's bed and all three ducked into the curtained enclosure. Ron averted his eyes and Ginny cast the silencing charm.

Harry pulled the chalk and a slightly crumpled piece of parchment out from his pocket, which he smoothed on his knee. "So we've got to isolate the affected person within a ring of chalk, otherwise, and the book was extremely clear, unfortunate things may occur." He looked at Ginny. "Will you do the honors, Gin?"

Ginny took the chalk from Harry and, on her hands and knees, carefully traced a somewhat wobbly circle around Hermione's bed. She handed the chalk back to Harry before standing up and brushing her hands off.

Harry glanced again at his parchment, then sent a questioning look at his two friends. "Just do it, Harry," Ron said.

"Gin?"

"Yeah, go ahead, Harry." Ginny had what she hoped was a supportive expression on her face, but thought she might have just looked vaguely sick to her stomach.

With a deep breath, Harry raised his wand, giving it flick to the right followed by a short dip (it was the wand maneuvering that was the difficult part of the counter-incantation—the words themselves were not so complicated). "In promptum ponereum vetus." Harry pointed his wand directly at Hermione, "Reperio, reperio is." Hermione began to glow a faint blue. "Animus reverto!" A few more complicated wand movements followed: a side-to-side swish, a circle repeated three times, and a quick jab forward and Hermione suddenly lifted off of the bed to float a few inches above the mattress. "Advehem, finite evaporatus, advehem." Harry's arm felt like it was about to fall off; the magical drain of the counter-incantation was enormous. Briefly, Harry wondered whether he'd be able to do magic in his classes the next day. "Finite incantatem. Soulus, animus, revertatum!" Hermione drifted back onto the bed and Harry dropped his arm, heart pounding, wondering whether Hermione had been fixed.

"Did it work?' Ron was watching Hermione closely for any sign of change.

Ginny went over and knelt by the bed, putting one hand on Hermione's arm. "Hermione?"

For a moment, nothing happened, and then a slight noise escaped Hermione's mouth and her eyelids fluttered slightly.

"HERMIONE!" Ron bellowed. Harry winced and was extremely glad for the silencing charm around them.

The sudden, loud, sound of Ron's voice seemed to have done the trick as Hermione's eyes opened completely. "Ron?" She peered at him.

"Yes, yes. And Harry and Ginny too." Ron hurried over to the bed.

"What's happened? Why am I…." Hermione looked around, before guessing correctly, "in the hospital wing?"

"You…er…there was a slight…accident following your discovery of the Osembleraniat." Harry said, not entirely sure as to how to break the news to Hermione that she'd been without her soul for quite some time.

Ginny was more straightforward with her friend. "It figured out that you knew what it was, so it evaporated your soul."

"It…my…_what?_" Hermione looked at Ginny, wide-eyed.

"Evaporated your soul. Harry got it back for you just now. Lucy remembered what had happened and gave us a book with the counter-incantation in it and…oh, Hermione! We're so glad you're back!" Ginny flung herself at the older girl. Harry and Ron followed suit and hugs were exchanged all around.

"Hermione, you're going to have to stay in the hospital wing for tonight," Harry said when they'd all settled down again.

Hermione furrowed her brow. "But why?"

"You've got to pretend that you've just recovered naturally. So tomorrow sometime you'll have to 'wake-up' so that Madam Pomfrey sees it happen."

"Ah. Well, all right." Hermione didn't look particularly pleased (and who would, Ginny thought, after just finding out that their soul had been evaporated out of them), but seemed to resign herself to the prospect. "Exactly how much class have I missed?" Hermione asked after a moment of silence.

Ron, Harry, and Ginny looked at one another. "Don't worry about it. Things will get sorted out," Harry said.

Hermione bit her lip worriedly. "I hope you're right. I suppose you'd better go now. I'm sure I'll be seeing you tomorrow." She smiled.

"Darn right you will," Ron said, nodding his head with great vigor.

"Good night, Hermione."

"Good night." She settled back on her pillows.

"See you." Harry gave a little wave before lifting the silencing charm and throwing his cloak on top of him, Ron, and Ginny.

"It worked! I can't believe it worked!" Ron was beside himself once they left the hospital wing.

Harry was grinning widely. "She'll be able to help us get to the bottom of all of this."

"Just don't go putting her in any other dangerous situations," Ginny said, only half-joking.

"No, no, of course not."

It was with considerably lighter hearts that the threesome made it back into the Gryffindor common room.

"I'm absolutely exhausted." Ginny let out an enormous yawn.

Ron and Harry nodded. "Yeah, it's about time to turn in."

"Night."

"Night."

Splitting, Ginny returned to the girls' dormitory while Ron and Harry headed to the boys' dormitory.

Ginny fell asleep rather quickly, but not before wondering what she was going to do about Malfoy.

**A/N: I'm sorry that this chapter took a bit longer to be released. The next couple of weeks are going to be busy since they'll be full of final exams and essays. Again, I want to thank MeggyandHaku, Emilemur, and lils for their reviews. I'm glad that you're enjoying the story so far! As for the rest of you readers but not reviewers, you'd make me so incredibly happy if you'd review too! **


End file.
